PLANS to build a new stadium in South Gloucestershire have led to Bristol Rovers taking supermarket Sainsbury’s to court and costing the club £1.5 million in delays.


The club will take Sainsbury’s to court in the hope of pursuing their plan to build a new £40 million stadium, on University of the West of England (UWE) land, at Stoke Gifford.


The club needs Sainsbury’s to develop the Memorial Stadium in Horfield to fund a new 21,700-seater stadium.


Sainsbury’s won planning permission to build a new store in January 2013 and although the supermarket chain has not publicly said it no longer wants to go ahead with buying the stadium, there is a widespread view that the store has retracted the plans.


Bristol Rovers are now taking legal action to ensure the supermarket follows through with the purchase.


A hearing is due to be heard in the High Court next month where the club will try to persuade a judge that Sainsbury's have entered into a contract to buy the site, which should be honoured.


The club has said in a statement: “It is with regret that we have felt it necessary to revert to High Court action to complete our contract with Sainsbury’s but it was felt that this course of action was necessary to allow us to invest in our new stadium at UWE.


“In view of the impeding legal action, we regret that we will be unable to comment further.”


Club chairman Nick Higgs said that for legal reasons he was unable to comment.


A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "Due to ongoing legal action we are unable to comment any further."


The club and supermarket have been involved in a legal battle for months over the planning consent.


If the issue is not resolved at this first hearing, the judge is expected to proceed with a full hearing at a later date.


The government gave final approval for Bristol Rovers to sell their ground to Sainsbury’s in March 2013.


At the time, Rovers chairman Nick Higgs said: "This is great news as we move one step closer to making a reality of our dream for a new stadium at the UWE Campus."


The club has had planning permission for the facility, the first stadium ever to be built in South Gloucestershire which will also include offices, a supporters’ bar, media study centre, gym, convenience store, club shop, teaching space and a 1,000-space car park, for more than two years.


When Sainsbury’s won planning permission for a new store the plans were then the subject of a Judicial Review, following complaints from members of protest group Traders and Residents Against Sainsbury’s Horfield, that Bristol City Council had illegally given consent.


The review was dismissed but the group also protested that the Memorial Ground is a war memorial, leading to fears that plans for the supermarket could be dissolved.


Protests were resolved last November when Bristol councillors gave overwhelming support to increase the number of hours for deliveries at the proposed supermarket.


Additional measures agreed involved a covered area lined with sound-absorbent material where the lorries would unload and that delivery vehicles must be fitted with silencers to their air brakes and would not have to reverse at the site and improved soundproof fencing near homes.

The case is due to be heard in the High Court on Monday, February 23.