Newcastle’s plans to revamp their training ground were given a boost after no bat roosts were discovered on site.
Toon are waiting on planning permission to upgrade their shabby Benton HQ, which falls “significantly below the Premier League and even Championship standards”.
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But a host of ecological assessments had to be conducted after it was discovered that the main building had several bat roosting opportunities.
Fortunately for the Saudi-owned Magpies, no nocturnal activity was found when a combined 16 surveyors carried out the studies armed with night vision binoculars and bat detectors.
Newcastle now hope to be given the green light by North Tyneside Council to begin work by the end of June.
Co-owner Amanda Staveley has described the training ground as “really awful”.
They plan to build a swandy new state-of-the-art base in the coming years but will pump money into their current base for now.
Improvements include plunge pools and hydrotherapy, new medical rooms, improved changing rooms and an updated presentation room and players’ lounge.
Documents submitted to North Tyneside council state: “Modern professional football demands the provision of bespoke dedicated training facilities to enable teams to compete successfully at the highest levels nationally and internationally.
“The current training facilities available to NUFC fall significantly below the Premier League and perhaps even Championship standards.
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“The provision of a high-quality training facility is essential to enable NUFC to keep its status as a Premier League club.
“Such facilities will enable the professional squads to work in an environment that gives effective preparation, coaching, recovery, and medical treatment.”
