Proposals to build a new 2,600 seat East Stand at Vicarage Road have moved a step closer to being realised after Watford planning officials recommended them for approval.

Borough council planning officers said the new stand would not have any significant impact on the area and could help reduce noise coming from the stadium.

Politicians on the council’s development control committee will have the final say on the plans next Thursday.

Watford FC is currently in the process of demolishing the old derelict East Stand in anticipation of building the new one.

In a report to the committee, officials said Watford FC’s plans included provisions to expand the stand to 5,000 seats in the future.

The club’s plans showed the new East Stand would be made of a steel frame with concrete seating decking and a cantilevered roof, which will be clad in metal sheeting.

The structure will also include players’ changing rooms, club offices and an area for spectators in wheelchairs.

The original East Stand was built in 1922 and extended in 1969, but has not been in use for fans for a number of seasons.

Planning officials noted the council had granted permission for two other East Stand developments that were never realised.

These included plans for a 4,289 seat stand granted in April 2002 and then a 5,000 seat structure in May 2008. Permission for the last project was renewed again in April 2011.

The report said the new stand will be built on the same footprint of the old one and extend an additional 20m to the north over an area of unused terracing.

Officials said the new structure "will be a significant improvement over the appearance of the existing stand."

They later added: "The proposed stand will give a greater degree of enclosure to this side of the stadium and therefore may reduce to some degree the levels of noise experienced in the residential areas to the east of the stadium."