IT'S the news every West End resident and south-coast based cricket fan wanted to hear - the Rose Bowl's plan to cope with massive congestion on roads around the arena.

Earlier this year, organisers came in for strong criticism over traffic problems following the Twenty20 international between England and Sri Lanka in June.

Rose Bowl plc, which runs the ground, has come up with the solution it believes will ensure lengthy queues at West End are a thing of the past.

The plan involves no fewer than three new access roads to and from what Rose Bowl chiefs are confident will become a 23,600 capacity £65m super stadium, an arena capable of hosting as many as 50,000 fans for concerts.

The new-look Rose Bowl will include a four-star, 175-bedroom hotel, along with 75 hospitality boxes overlooking the ground. The arena will be surrounded by an 18-hole championship golf course.

Subject to planning permission, work will get under way in late 2007, to provide in 2009 the second-biggest English cricket ground after Lord's.

Central to the ambitious project are the new entry and exit points. With the help of Park & Ride and Park & Walk schemes, this should ensure spectators are able to leave the ground within an hour of the game's finish.

Legion, a company specialising in spectator safety and comfort, looked at how the Rose Bowl coped with 20,000 spectators leaving the ground when Pakistan played England in the ground's first floodlit one-day international in September.

Rose Bowl plc managing director, Glenn Delve, believes the three new entrances will reduce exit times still further. As things stand, the only pedestrian route is along Marshall Drive. There is also an emergency vehicle route that leads to Botley Road, which will become a second pedestrian path.

The new plans also include an emergency access lane leading directly from the M27 with another entrance, adjacent to a Park and Walk site with room for more than 500 cars, on the southern side of the Rose Bowl leading to the A27.

Mr Delve explained: "We don't want people to be stuck getting in and out, which is something the Rose Bowl has been associated with, so we reviewed everything after the Sri Lanka game.

"We had to learn fast before the Pakistan game and discovered Legion, a sophisticated system used in the design and improvement of stadia for the Olympics in Sydney and (for two years' time) in Beijing.

"That helped us ensure that Botley Road was reopened within 75 minutes of the end of the game, which exceeds by 15 minutes the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) criteria for emptying a ground.

"With the addition of the three new thoroughfares, experts reckon the new-look Rose Bowl would be clear of spectators within 50 minutes."

If Rose Bowl plc is successful in gaining planning permission for the three routes and the rest of the £35m development, West End will boast one of the most lavish stadiums in world cricket.

At yesterday's presentation at Lord's, the home of cricket, chairman Rod Bransgrove revealed how last year he commissioned KPMG, the global professional services firm, to show how the Rose Bowl could be developed.

With the help of KPMG and criteria laid down by the ECB that defined the standards for the perfect Test match or category A ground, Mr Bransgrove, Mr Delve and commercial director Stuart Robertson were able to formulate the business plan revealed yesterday.

Mr Delve explained how the Rose Bowl, which will have 13,500 permanent seats, 4,100 of which will be covered, will incorporate a purpose-built Media Centre and the four-star hotel at the Northern End of the ground.

"It's a concept that's been done elsewhere, but we're putting it on a completely different scale," he said.

"The tri-purpose Resort Hotel will be built in its entirety overlooking the playing surface. It will have all the features expected of a quality hotel and will also accommodate the media centre and spectator facilities."

Mr Robertson revealed there will not be a single restricted view, and that the design will continue to match the pavilion at the southern end.

He explained: "There will be full provision for disabled spectators and the standing area will remain a non-claustrophobic open concourse. Spectators will be able to come through turnstiles and see the field of play straight in front of them.

"Having only 13,500 permanent seats also enables us to have enough space for the funfairs that help generate such a great atmosphere at (domestic) Twenty20 games."

Rose Bowl plc is under no illusions as to the magnitude of the task in front of them.

Mr Delve said: "The entire project is subject to obtaining the necessary planning permission but we're in pre-application talks and in good dialogue with the local authority.

"There will also be consultation with local residents. Last night, Mr Delve briefed Hedge End and West End Borough councillors on the plans "so they can field the inevitable enquiries". Mr Delve continued: "Consultation with the public is an important part of what we do and is certainly in our plans, although no dates have been set."

Mr Bransgrove is hopeful that the Rose Bowl will be completed in time for the Twenty20 World Cup in 2009. He also hopes that the improving square will help ensure it is awarded Test match accreditation for 2010 later this month. The promise of a Test match would help fund the £35m needed to complete the project.

Mr Bransgrove has already underwritten around £5m of the £30m that has so far been spent on the Rose Bowl, which opened for business in 2001.

He said: "It will be partly funded by myself, partly by equity investors and partly by borrowings and we've spoken to a number of institutions already in that respect. I'm going to put everything together into the best financial package for the business."