Newcastle United have been granted planning permission to upgrade the club's training ground.
Newcastle submitted proposals to North Tyneside Council to revamp the club's Benton base after acknowledging the standards of the facility 'fall significantly below the Premier League and perhaps even Championship standards'. ChronicleLive understands that these plans have now been given the green light by planning officers under delegated powers in a private meeting and a decision notice has been issued today.
Bulldozers have already been on site in recent weeks carrying out the necessary ground works, which do not require planning permission, so the the Magpies can actually start work on extending and improving the actual main building as soon as possible. Although the owners still plan to build a new state of the art training ground in the future, they were keen to get the absolute most out of the current facility in the interim by introducing: hydrotherapy and plunge pools; improved changing rooms; new doctor and physio rooms; an updated presentation room; a modern players' lounge; and an extended dining area among a number of other new features.
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Eddie Howe has had an input on the plans in a bid to create an environment that flows better and enables players and staff to interact easier. The existing building has had various short-term additions made to it over the years, which has made it feel like a maze as players and staff regularly cross over. To rectify that, as simple as it sounds, new doctor and physio rooms would be located next to the players' area and the coaching staff's offices to take just one example.
ChronicleLive previously revealed that the planning committee at North Tyneside Council were working towards a target decision date of today, June 28, after a host of ecological surveys took place. Although the main building at the training ground was initially found to have several roosting opportunities for bats, crucially, no roosts were discovered during subsequent nocturnal surveys.
An ecological impact assessment by Total Ecology did recommend building work took place outside bird nesting season, between March and August inclusive, and this is one of the 25 conditions planning permission is subject to. However, work can start sooner if a survey by a suitably qualified ecologist has confirmed the absence of nesting birds immediately beforehand.
The site was also surveyed during an ecological walkover for the presence of invasive non-native species. Cotoneaster was found and it has been recommended that a specialist company removes it. Regardless of when the work starts this summer, the news is a huge boost for Eddie Howe and his players ahead of the start of pre-season on Friday.
"It's hugely important for us," the Newcastle boss previously said of the plans. "Your day-to-day environment is so important. Now we're attracting or trying to attract world-class players to the club and, in doing so, you need to give them an environment that matches their status.
"The grass and the playing facilities are excellent here. The building, itself, that we're changing in and working in definitely needs updating so, fingers crossed, everything goes smoothly and we can make those adjustments during the summer with a longer-term plan of moving training grounds. However long that takes? I don't know but, certainly, [there are] ambitious plans. It's what the club needs to sustain where the club wants to go in the future."
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