Braintree Town Football Club's board of directors have issued a statement unveiling plans for the club's long-term future.

Earlier this month, the Cressing Road club missed out on a second successive promotion, that would have taken the club to within one step of the Football League, after going down 1-0 to Salisbury City in the Conference South Promotion Final.

The club spent over £120,000 on improvements to their Cressing Road ground to meet the Football Association's B' grading, which allows the club to remain in next season's Blue Square South Division and allows for promotion to the Blue Square Premier Division in the future.

With that work now complete, the club's board of directors have been considering the stadium improvements that would be required following another promotion.

If Braintree Town are promoted again, the facilities at Cressing Road would require expansion.

A requirement of membership of the level above (next season's Blue Square Premier) is to provide the Conference with a detailed business plan within the first year of how Braintree Town would improve the Cressing Road ground to meet the minimum entry requirements for the Football League - primarily a stadium capacity of 5,000, which includes seating for 1,000.

The club have looked closely at the possibility of developing its current Cressing Road home to meet the Football League's requirements.

There is enough space to increase the capacity of the ground, but the club's board of directors are concerned that their existing location is not best suited to accommodate Football League crowds.

Therefore, the club's board of directors have decided that the club's long-term future would be best served by considering relocation to a new stadium, that could be located, designed and purpose-built to meet the Football League's requirements.

The club have been offered a new site for relocation in the town.

The proposed new location lies within the A120 by-pass and is less than two miles from the town centre.

The proposed site is 12 acres and would include a new 6,000-capacity stadium, two training pitches, various function facilities together with car parking for over 400.

At this time, it is expected that the existing Cressing Road site would be retained for the Club's reserve, youth and women's sides.

Chairman Lee Harding was cautiously optimistic about a proposed relocation: "There is still a lot of work ahead of us before we kick a ball at any new stadium.

"But the exceptional progress that George and the team have brought to the club over the past two seasons has dictated that it is now time to look at the club's long-term future.

Over the past four years, we have always planned for the future and this exercise is no different.

"Of course, our Cressing Road stadium is our home and holds many fond memories for all of us, but I believe it will only ever be a suitable location for a non-League ground.

"Accommodating crowds of up to six thousand would not be fair on our neighbours and local community.

"The offer that has been made to us is very interesting and we have agreed our preliminary wish list of essential requirements for a new stadium.

"We realise that we will only have one opportunity to move the club to a ground ready for the Football League and we will take our time to ensure that we get it right.

"We own the freehold of our existing ground and one of the prerequisites of moving is that the club would own the new ground and this has been agreed.

"Once the formalities have been completed, the next stage will be to draw up plans and present them to our shareholders, supporters and the public."