Herald looks back at Brighton & Hove Albion training ground plans

MONTHS after submitting a planning application, Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club will still have to wait for the green light over its training ground plans. The club will submit a revised application after a number of concerns were raised over the proposed training ground and academy, which would be built on land near Mash Barn Lane. While it is not yet known when the plans will be submitted, among the concerns to be addressed in the new proposals is an alternative route for construction vehicles via the golf course, as opposed to them using Mash Barn Lane directly. Rubbish bins will also be moved from the front of the development to its rear, to avoid them being near residents’ back gardens. Chief executive Martin Perry said: “This is the planning process working because we’ve consulted with residents over the plans and are happy to amend them.” The revised plans, which could be submitted within the next couple of weeks, are also expected to address concerns raised by the Highways Agency about the effects the development would have on traffic in the area. Paul Camillin, head of media and communications, said the club wanted to be a “good neighbour” and was therefore revising its plans to meet the concerns put to them. He said the club aimed to start using the academy and training ground by the 2013/14 season and cited its relationship with residents in Falmer, where the club’s Amex stadium is based, as an example of the positive role it had within the Sussex community. The news comes after a long battle for planning permission. A large-scale development on land near New Monks Farm and Mash Barn Lane had been indicated as early as April, 2011, but it was not until February, this year, that a planning application was submitted by the club to the district’s planning department. For the full story, see this week’s Worthing Herald.