CITY'S TRAINING GROUND DEVELOPMENT LATEST

Thursday 27th Feb

Walesonline

Cardiff City's Vale of Glamorgan training academy plans see growing opposition from villagers.

The Premier League side wants to create a training and football academy complex on a 37-acre site at Hensol close to the Vale Resort hotel.

Opposition is mounting to plans by under-pressure Premier League club Cardiff City to create a training and football academy complex in the Vale of Glamorgan countryside.

The scheme - first revealed last year - would see the club basing its training facilities on a 37-acre site at Hensol, close to the Vale Resort hotel, which is home to the multi-million pound WRU National Centre of Excellence.

The scheme involves creating 15 training pitches on the site along with a two-storey football centre.

The proposal was first considered in May last year by the Vale council’s cabinet when members directed the authority’s managing director Sian Davies to agree a short-term lease with the club, followed by a 150-year lease should a subsequent planning application for the complex be approved.

That two-part planning application has now been submitted to the council’s planning department and is likely to go before the planning committee in the next couple of months.

At the May cabinet meeting local councillor Rhodri Traherne warned that there was already “significant disquiet” about the proposal.

That disquiet has now hardened into opposition and the formation of the Hensol Community Group which has called for the scheme to be refused planning permission.

Janet Israel, chairwoman of the community group, stressed that they were not opposed to the creation of training facilities for the club or the setting up of sports facilities.

But they were against the siting of the training pitches and football centre in an important part of the countryside and within view of the 19-home Hensol Village.

She said: “This is a recognised area of landscape value which is next to historic parkland.

“This development would be totally out of keeping with the area.

“We want to be positive, and would suggest that it would be far better if these facilities were built on a brownfield site”

The club says the scheme would cause “minimal nuisance” to the village.

Thursday 27th Feb

Walesonline

Cardiff City's Vale of Glamorgan training academy plans see growing opposition from villagers.

The Premier League side wants to create a training and football academy complex on a 37-acre site at Hensol close to the Vale Resort hotel.

Opposition is mounting to plans by under-pressure Premier League club Cardiff City to create a training and football academy complex in the Vale of Glamorgan countryside.

The scheme - first revealed last year - would see the club basing its training facilities on a 37-acre site at Hensol, close to the Vale Resort hotel, which is home to the multi-million pound WRU National Centre of Excellence.

The scheme involves creating 15 training pitches on the site along with a two-storey football centre.

The proposal was first considered in May last year by the Vale council’s cabinet when members directed the authority’s managing director Sian Davies to agree a short-term lease with the club, followed by a 150-year lease should a subsequent planning application for the complex be approved.

That two-part planning application has now been submitted to the council’s planning department and is likely to go before the planning committee in the next couple of months.

At the May cabinet meeting local councillor Rhodri Traherne warned that there was already “significant disquiet” about the proposal.

That disquiet has now hardened into opposition and the formation of the Hensol Community Group which has called for the scheme to be refused planning permission.

Janet Israel, chairwoman of the community group, stressed that they were not opposed to the creation of training facilities for the club or the setting up of sports facilities.

But they were against the siting of the training pitches and football centre in an important part of the countryside and within view of the 19-home Hensol Village.

She said: “This is a recognised area of landscape value which is next to historic parkland.

“This development would be totally out of keeping with the area.

“We want to be positive, and would suggest that it would be far better if these facilities were built on a brownfield site”

The club says the scheme would cause “minimal nuisance” to the village.

Posh area but I wonder how much we are giving to the council lol

Nimby

Posh area but I wonder how much we are giving to the council lol[/quote]

Not that posh there Wez

Is Hensol village those ex council (looking) houses by the ambulance station ?

Is Hensol village those ex council (looking) houses by the ambulance station ?

Yes but not sure if ex council, I think most of them were for the nursing staff that use to work at Hensol

'Janet Israel'? Really? I wonder if the leader of the Pro-Hensol development group is called 'Keith Palestine'?

Probably a ploy by Tan to get out of having to spend his cash now relegation looms. CCFC paying some locals to complain to give them an excuse to reconsider and delay plans and expenditure.

I would'nt be surprised if this never gets built.

Probably a ploy by Tan to get out of having to spend his cash now relegation looms. CCFC paying some locals to complain to give them an excuse to reconsider and delay plans and expenditure.

I would'nt be surprised if this never gets built.

what f*cking dribble.

I'm sure if he didn't want to build it he's say I don't want to build it anymore not pay off people.

Some people are f*cking nuts.

My suggestion that the club were paying people off was, of course, somewhat tongue in cheek, but we should not under estimate the fact that potential relegation from the premiership puts all Tans plans for a future sale on hold, unless he is prepared to sell at a major loss, or walk away resulting from the club potentially going into receivership and him getting only a fraction of his loans back.

You have to ask yourself what value Tan will get from spending a further £10 million on the new development, especially if the potential benefits in financial terms may take 3-5 years to really come to fruition (development of more youth talent will take time for example).

The new development will make the club more attractive for a potential buyer, but how much will it add to the value of a Championship club, which is £80-£100 million in debt?? The club is only worth anything (assets less debt), provided we remain in the premiership. If we go down, the club simply has more liabilities than asset value, so further multi million pound developments should be seriously questionned.

I believe, Tan wants out and as quickly as possible, but he won't get anywhere near his investment back unless we remain in the Premiership. He was simply too naive to even contemplate we would go straight back down with an additional budget of £50 million+ being spent and he will no doubt be very reluctant to spend any more than he has already committed to if we do go down.

The proof will be in the pudding, but if we go down, then Tan may all of a sudden start to be far more responsive to the concerns of the locals moaning about the development, because it will give him a perfect excuse to suggest the club now need to explore other sites, which will then delay the development and any significant financial outlay.