AMBITIOUS plans for a Clarets memorial garden have now been lodged with borough council planning bosses.

Land sandwiched between the top of Higgins Street and the back of Brandwood Grove has been offered as the site for a nominal fee.

Burnley FC and Burnley Council have supported the fan-backed project in principle and hopes are high progress will now be made.

Clarets fan Peter Briggs, who has masterminded the scheme, said: “There is request, which is currently with the board and hopefully it will be granted, alongside the planning permission.”

Supporters of the initiative have been undertaking their own fundraising after the idea was first suggested in late 2015, to fund architects and the planning application process.

An initial phase would see the garden created, ready to accept the ashes of fans, with a wall erected to take memorial plaques.

Part of the layout will also see the Rivers Brun and Calder, which snake through the town.

Work has been ongoing with sculptor Joe Hayton to create a statue of Jimmy McIlroy, which will stand between the ground and garden entrance.

Peter added: “I’ve been in contact with the sculptor and the bust will now be used to produce the full version, for outside the garden.”

Plans for the second phase include a life-size statue of former Burnley and manager Brian Miller, who made 379 appearances for the Clarets between 1955 and 1966 and later ran a newsagents nearby.

Further ideas were a replica of the dugout, from the era when Burnley avoided relegation from the Football League in 1987, and the famous picture of Miller, arms aloft in celebration.

Cllr Bea Foster, the borough council’s leisure cabinet member, said that a consultation with nearby residents had showed that there was strong support for the idea.

And Clarets chief executive David Baldwin felt that the proposals 'would be a welcome addition to the stadium' and it 'will be of a real benefit to many supporters'.

Mr Briggs has also worked closely with Newground to move the scheme forward, and consulted other Premier League and Football League clubs, who have developed their own memorial gardens, for inspiration.

Other Clarets memorial suggestions, of recent times, have included a wall along the Bob Lord Stand and ‘Forever Clarets’ stones’.