A Pembroke sports club hopes to install almost 300 solar panels as part of a redevelopment project.

The proposal by the Western Stars Sports Club - the home of the eponymous cricket club and Dandy Town football club - would complement already-begun improvements at the St John’s Road site.

Botelhowood Architects, who submitted the plan, said that while the field hosts youth and adult teams playing both football and cricket, the clubhouse “barely accommodates both sports and needs repairs”.

The application adds: “It is our humble opinion that these additions to the Western Stars Sports Club field will improve the overall experience of the player and the community.

“The additions will not adversely affect any neighbouring property. Our proposal will act as buttresses to the existing wall thus making them stronger.

“Metaphorically, these same additions will make this community club stronger as well.”

The application proposes new storage rooms, changing rooms and pedestrian access from St John’s Road.

The project also includes the instillation of 288 solar panels, capable of generating a total of 116.6kW of electricity, along with a transformer, electrical panels and two above grade water tanks.

The solar panels have been earmarked for a wedge of land south of the site’s main field, which had historically been used as a children’s field.

The changing room and storage rooms will be built against an existing 8ft wall on the eastern side of the property.

The Western Stars Sports Club has been a fixture in Pembroke for more than a century, but in 2019 Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, said the site was “plagued with uneven grounds, leading to frequent flooding”.

At that time it was announced that Gorham’s had partnered with the club to upgrade the grounds. Work on those improvements began in March, and the grounds are expected to remain closed for the next two years.

The club’s cricket team is playing their home matches this summer at Sea Breeze Oval, and the football team used Goose Gosling Field at BAA for their home matches in the shortened football season.