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Liverpool FC were praised for “listening to residents’ concerns” over the Anfield stadium redevelopment.

A city councillor made the remark after town hall planners backed a series of amendments to the ongoing stadium redesign.

The club asked the council to allow it to make changes to the public areas outside the ground, w here work is well-underway on the extended main stand .

The changes to the initial plans will see lighting columns moved slightly further away from nearby homes.

One of the planned footpaths to the redeveloped stadium will be scrapped altogether.

The club had initially wanted to install a footpath link from Alroy Road but cancelled the plan at the behest of residents who did not want to encourage the use of their road as a route to the stadium.

Planning committee member Cllr Steve Radford said: “The fact that they have taken the effort and time to listen to residents and look at their concerns about issues such as lighting and footpaths is very welcome.”

Sam Ryan from Turley, the company co-ordinating the new Anfield development, told the meeting of the planning committee at Liverpool town hall, there were to be no changes to the stadium, only outside space.

Under the new plans, there will now be a larger football pitch-sized landscaped area around the ground and a new grassed area fronting Walton Breck Road.

The number of new trees will be reduced from 123 to 100 – comprising 96 trees within the main landscaped area outside the ground, and a further four trees in the Hillsborough Memorial Garden.

Ms Ryan told the planning committee the reduction in the number of trees is because the club has outline planning permission to expand the Anfield Road stand to provide an additional 4,800 seats, and those trees would need to be removed when that expansion takes place.

Other changes include alterations to the outside broadcast area on Anfield Road to accommodate structural changes to the stadium.

Once completed the redeveloped Main Stand will have three tiers and take the total capacity of Anfield to around 54,000.

Work on the stadium redevelopment is progressing at pace ahead of its expected completion date of summer 2016/17.