Leeds United looks to upgrade Academy facilities
Away from the action on the main pitch, the football club has submitted plans to improve its training ground in Thorp Arch near Wetherby.
Supported by Sheppard Planning and Martin Walsh Architectural, plans focus on four main elements consisting of a new groundskeeper’s facility, reworking the existing barn into a facilities for students and parents, such as changing rooms, providing more parking, and separating deliveries from general site traffic.
The groundskeeper’s facility will be at the northern end of the site, while the revamped barn will mean temporary portacabins that have been used as changing facilities can be removed.
As for the final two points, it is hoped both measures will ease pressure on parking and traffic near Thorp Arch village. Parking provision is set to almost double, from 101 to 175 spaces.
Leeds United is also looking to gain formal approval to keep its Academy building, which has been in place for a few years and currently relies on temporary permission.
The site, which is around 20 miles from Elland Road Stadium, sits within a rural green space designation, however, it has been used for sports use since the early 1990s.
The training ground primarily consists of playing pitches, parking, a running track, and purpose-built and temporary buildings in the southern corner of the site.
Leeds United uses the ground for its training academy at Thorp Arch, however, believes the buildings are operating inefficiently, with a poor layout and inadequate parking provision.
While the pitches are of a high standard and the Academy is recognised as a Category 1 facility – the highest accreditation available – the club recognises the supporting facilities do not match the quality of the playing surfaces or the Academy’s coaching and training capabilities.
The submission follows the club’s application to Leeds City Council for a 2,000 capacity fanzone at Elland Road as part of its wider £130m stadium and regeneration plans, following its acquisition of the warehouse and adjoining units next to the Stadium Way Car Park, opposite the East Stand.
