PNE training ground plans '˜fit for Premier League'

And alongside it the club intends to gift the city its first new public park in more than 100 years.

Plans for the state-of-the-art training base, earmarked for land currently used by Ingol Golf Club, will go on show during a public consultation day at Preston Grasshoppers on November 10 (5pm-8pm).

The complex will occupy a 172-acre site which will also include the new landscaped public open space - twice the size of Avenham Park - and a large residential development.

The club’s chief executive John Kay said: “We are very excited about the plans for our new training facility and the public benefit that will be derived from the overall scheme.

“It is important that as many members of the public as possible get the opportunity to see these plans. It is important that we take all views into account and these public events will allow as many people as possible to put forward their comments.”

The club wants to move its training base from Springfields in Lea to land at the golf club owned by Trevor Hemmings. But the idea has already sparked protests from golfers and residents living nearby who have vowed to fight the scheme.

The course, designed in 1981 by Sir Henry Cotton, will close down completely if the plans are approved. A report from PWA Planning said if the football club had aspirations of top flight football it needed training facilities “of the highest standards” to atttract top players.

It is anticipated that the development will include an indoor training facility, four full-size pitches and two five-a-side pitches. It is envisaged the new complex would be used by the senior squad, while the club’s academy would remain at Springfields in Lea.