Revised plans in for Doncaster City Elite Training centre
Following a refusal in February over concerns about developing on Green Belt and the impact on two neighbouring properties, updated proposals have been submitted for the proposed football training hub.
Headed up by sports stadium experts KSS Architects, which is also working on Leeds United’s Elland Road expansion and has designed elite training grounds for Leicester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Palace, the project team also comprises planning consultant Urbana, landscape architect EDP, civil engineer Buro Happold, and Curtins as transport consultant.
The development would create a high-performance football training hub featuring indoor and outdoor facilities alongside residential accommodation for professional teams travelling for competitive fixtures and pre-season training camps.
Located at Martin Grange Farm, the 37-acre site is around one mile north west of the town of Bawtry and eight miles south east of Doncaster.
Plans include two full-size hybrid pitches, specialist goalkeeping areas, a fully equipped gym, hydrotherapy pool, medical and physiotherapy suites, changing facilities and team administration offices.
The elite training hub would be capable of accommodating two elite teams and one professional team simultaneously, with five-star accommodation and training facilities for squads of up to 50 players and staff per team.
A separate professional hub would provide three-star accommodation and sports facilities aimed at women’s teams, lower-league clubs and youth squads. This element would include an indoor half-size training pitch, changing facilities and administration space.
The scheme also incorporates a show pitch with a 499-seat stand, padel tennis courts, landscaped walking routes, and associated parking.
Doncaster is centrally located in the North of England, with eight Premier league clubs and 12 Championship clubs within a two-hour travel time, and is just over a three hour drive to Wembley, and is therefore close to around 45% of the clubs in the top two tiers of English football.
The original application was recommended for approval by planning officers but was refused in February, with concerns centering on Green Belt issues and the proximity of the development to two neighbouring bungalows.
In response, the applicant has negotiated the purchase of both properties and now intends to incorporate them into the wider development as accommodation for staff working at the training facility.
Planning documents state that the acquisition removes the residential use that formed the basis of the committee’s concerns, while the remainder of the scheme remains unchanged from proposals submitted in December 2025.
Under the revised application, the two bungalows would be managed as part of the training centre operation. No alterations are proposed to their external appearance, access arrangements or boundary treatments.
