Kick off still uncertain for Blackpool FC’s training ground despite approval

A legal agreement has been reached between Wyre and Blackpool councils and the football club, finalising full consent for plans approved a year ago – but the club has indicated there is still no timeframe for the development.

Blackpool Football Club want to build a two-storey building, an indoor pitch, premises for ground staff, and 10 outdoor pitches – complete with access, storage units, floodlights, and parking for up to 120 cars.

The Tangerines have been seeking permission to build a replacement training ground for several years, after acquiring the 87-acre site in 2022.

The club, working with planner PWA Planning, got consent from Wyre Council for the development in summer 2024.

However, the subsequent legal agreement has taken a further 12 months to iron out.

Now full approval has been granted with conditions concerning visual impact, drainage, landscaping, and habitat retention.

Other requirements stipulate that development cannot proceed until details of the external colour of the indoor pitch dome have been confirmed and off-street parking spaces are delivered.

Despite the agreement being reached, the club remains uncertain of when work might start on the training facility.

The site straddles Blackpool Council’s border, but the local authority has said its neighbour, Wyre Council, will be in charge of the legal agreement’s enforcement.

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Manchester-based AFL Architects is the designer behind the development of the Green Belt plot set to replace the current Squires Gate facility, which has been used by the club for more than 50 years.

The land earmarked for the training ground is between Steeton Road and Garstang Road.

While the club works through planning and construction, Blackpool FC’s owner, Simon Sadler, is still investing in improving the current facility, indicating completion of the new site is still far away.

This summer, Blackpool’s players will return from the off-season to a refitted kitchen and fresh gym facilities at Squires Gate.

The project team for the plans for the proposed new training ground includes Walker Sime, Labosport, O’Neil and Partners, MJMC, Milieu Landscape Design, Hannan Associates, Acoustic & Engineering Consultants, Nationwide CDM, Mosodi, Lexington, and Eight Associates.

Detailed proposals can be viewed with the application reference number 23/00500/LMAJ on Wyre Council’s planning portal.