Liverpool given green light by city councillors to expand Anfield to 54,000 seats

Liverpool's proposal recommended for approval

Anfield (Liverpool FC)

Liverpool have moved a step closer to extending Anfield by 8,500 sets after their proposal was recommended for approval by planners.

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The club are hoping to start redevelopment on the main stand at the end of December this year or in January 2015, a move that will take the stadium from ito a capacity of 54,000.

A decision will be made on 23 September and should the expansion be given full approval, work will take 20 months to complete and cost around £150million.

Liverpool are hopeful they can eventually have Anfield hold 58,800.

A 70-page report, seen by the Liverpool Echo, reveals that the stand will not fully close but that two large cranes will help lift steel girders into place while a memorial garden for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster is also part of the design.

A statement from opposition group the Anfield Rockfield Area Committee say the community is being "held to ransom" over plans for the stadium.