CHAIRMAN Cliff Puffett is celebrating his "dream come true" after Swindon Supermarine were granted planning permission to redevelop their Hunts Copse ground.

Swindon Borough Council rubber-stamped the plans at a meeting last month, and Puffett has not stopped smiling since.

"This is great news for me and everyone connected with the club," said the former Swindon Town chairman.

"Not long ago we were facing the threat of eviction, but now we have the opportunity to develop Supermarine into one of the best facilities around.

"When I came to the club I had three goals; to buy the freehold at Hunts Copse, to win promotion to the Southern Premier League and to get planning permission for ground redevelopment.

"To achieve all three is just incredible."

Puffett, pictured right, expects the first phase of the £1million scheme, the construction of new changing rooms, to start within the next fortnight.

The remainder of the development, which includes an all-weather pitch, covered stands and car parking for 1,000 spectators, could begin within 12 months if Puffett can secure a grant from the Football Foundation.

He said: "We will be talking to contractors over the next couple of weeks, so hopefully work on the changing rooms will start pretty soon.

"They are already up to Southern League standard, but we are aiming for Conference standard or better.

"Before we could apply for any grants to complete the project we needed planning approval. Now we've got that in the bag we can go for the extra funding.

"If we want to entertain clubs like Swindon Town in future we have to have facilities that are second to none in the town."

Puffett believes the plans will also help to attract a better calibre of player to the club.

He said: "The majority of our players are ex-Swindon Town lads who never quite made it.

"They joined us because they could see the club was looking to move forward.

"Now, with the new plans in place, it should help to attract even more players."

And Puffett believes the news will enable manager Mark Collier to build a team capable of competing in the Southern Premier.

He said: "Mark has delivered everything I have asked of him. Three years ago we were battling relegation, but Mark and his team have turned things around.

"Part of that I'm sure was down to the belief that he was working for a club that was looking to progress.

"It's been a long road over the last 18 months. Every time our application went in, hurdles were put in front of us.

"But we jumped all those hurdles and now the real challenge begins."