Darlington chief executive officer Dave Mills says that Darlington Rugby Club’s decision to move towards a formal groundshare agreement at its EGM on Monday night is a “significant step”.

Rugby club members have approved continuation of discussions and a move towards towards the completion of the groundshare agreement, which hopefully will be completed next month.

Rugby club chairman Mike Wilkinson told the Northern Echo: "We were given the continuing support of the members which was good. I will continue speaking to the members about the progress that we are making."

The next step in the process is talks next week between the rugby club, football club and council officials.

DM said; “On behalf of all supporters of the football club I’m delighted with the outcome of the rugby club’s EGM on Monday evening.

“It’s another significant step towards the completion of the ground share lease agreement, which when signed, will allow the football club to make a resubmission of the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) grant application to the Football Foundation, at the earliest opportunity.

“I remain hopeful for a positive outcome from this re-application. Both parties have worked tirelessly over the last few weeks to get us to this point and I’m now looking forward to formalizing the legal documentation as soon as possible.”