Workington Reds face an obstacle in the latest developments to the Borough Park ground.

The amateur football club’s grounds have seen a number of works in recent months prior to matches reopening to spectators. However if they cannot de-regulate part of their seating area they could face a “tremendous burden”.

Issues with the safety certificate for Workington’s Borough Park ground remain, leading covered seating areas to be sectioned off during the Reds’ game against Lancaster City last weekend.

Reds bosses are in talks with Cumbria County Council to see the Town end of their seating area de-regulated. This would mean avoiding meeting the requirements of a safety certificate seen in larger clubs.

The club's chairman Les Byers said it would mean: “reducing the tremendous burden on the club to fulfill the criteria.

“Applying annually for our safety certificate has for many years been an onerous and time-consuming process.

“The process we have to follow is virtually identical to that followed by club’s like Carlisle United and even much larger clubs.

"Borough Park is a traditional football league ground loved by our fans and the envy of visitors. But the Reds dropped out of the Football League in 1977 and our average crowd last season was just 485.

"For the foreseeable future we can not admit more than 400 due to Covid restrictions.”

Structural engineers have carried out a thorough inspection on the ground with a report likely to be released within days.

The safety of fans, who have now returned to Borough Park following the coronavirus lockdown, is of the utmost importance to Workington AFC.

“This does not reduce our health and safety obligations," said Mr Byers.

“Our priority is the safety of the supporters at all times and no structural defects have been identified by the local authority.

“We are cautiously optimistic that the stands will be re-opened and talks with the county council suggest there will be no issues affecting games at the start of the new season."