Bluebirds flying this way? THE Vale Council is in negotiations with Cardiff City, over plans to bring the Bluebirds’ new training academy to the Vale. The council is considering making 37 acres of land near Hensol available for the project. The football club has been looking to build its own training academy for some time, and now that it has been promoted to the Premier League, it has become a top priority. Last week, the Leader of the Vale Council, Coun Neil Moore, brought a report to the cabinet of the council, to “seek authority to enter into an agreement for leas and thereafter a 150-year lease with Cardiff City Football Club of approximately 37 acres of land at Tynyplancau, Hensol, to enable them to develop the land as training pitches, professional squad and academy buildings”. (See Leader’s column, page 18 of our digital edition...) Cabinet members were told that the club has been looking at sites in Cardiff and the Vale for a number o months and, following a short-listing of sites and confirmation of promotion to the Premier League, concluded that the preferred option is to locate training facilities at the council-owned site at Tynyplancau, Hensol. The training facilities will need to be designed and constructed to the required Football Association and Premier League standards. The Bluebirds will be looking to construct a number o training pitches for both the professional and academ squads and provide accommodation for ancillary use including sports rehabilitation, sports medicine, recovery and physiotherapy. The report noted: “In this regard, there are obvious synergies with the facilities on offer at the neighbouring Vale resort, which has a range of leisure fitness and sport related facilities on offer”. Plaid Cymru councillor Ian Johnson told The GEM: “Working alongside local sports clubs should be beneficial, and the investment in the Vale must be welcomed. “However there will be a number of issues that will have to be ironed out before planning permission can be given. “Local residents are concerned by the increase in traffic and any light pollution that might result from floodlights and night usage of the facilities.” Coun Johnson said he thought the length of the lease was a surprise. “A 150-year lease must be absolutely water-tight, as no-one ever really knows what the future might hold for a football club not owned by the supporters. “The final contract must get a good deal for the Vale Glamorgan, local residents and Cardiff City.”
Posted on: Fri, 31 May 2013 11:24:27 +0000