Post by Cantankerous Gas on Mar 16, 2017 16:31:25 GMT
Bristol Rovers are hoping to have blueprints of their plans to redevelop Colony Farm into a state-of-the-art training ground completed by the end of April.
The club done a deal to purchase the 29-acre site on Horsham Lane in Almondsbury at the start of last month and have already made a start on preparatory work to include flailing of hedgerows, renovation of some of the existing buildings and securitisation of the site.
The club has also completed the tender process to appoint a firm of architects to carry out the design work and is hopeful that plans for 'The Colony' will be submitted by the end of April.
Club representatives have also been on fact-finding missions to the training grounds of Bournemouth and Sheffield Wednesday ahead of decisions on whether the buildings at the new training ground will be of a traditional brick and mortar structure or pre-built modular structures.
The club were hoping to move their youth teams across from Golden Hill at the end of March when the lease runs out on the site – but that looks likely to be put on the back burner until the summer as work on the surface at the site is set to begin imminently.
Rovers had also been optimistic in earmarking the possibility of getting enough work completed to move the first team over to the site for the start of next season.
The job, however, is bigger than first thought and the club had been sensible in already doing a deal to remain at their current Cribbs Causeway training base.
The club are hopeful that the first of their 'legacy projects' will be fully completed by the summer 2018.The designs for the project are believed to include several football pitches, floodlights, modern changing room space, catering and refectory facilities and office space to allow Clarke and his backroom staff to be permanently based at the centre.
The plans will also include the construction of facilities that would initially meet Category 3 Academy status with the possibility of applying for upgrade to Category 2 status in the longer-term.
The club done a deal to purchase the 29-acre site on Horsham Lane in Almondsbury at the start of last month and have already made a start on preparatory work to include flailing of hedgerows, renovation of some of the existing buildings and securitisation of the site.
The club has also completed the tender process to appoint a firm of architects to carry out the design work and is hopeful that plans for 'The Colony' will be submitted by the end of April.
Club representatives have also been on fact-finding missions to the training grounds of Bournemouth and Sheffield Wednesday ahead of decisions on whether the buildings at the new training ground will be of a traditional brick and mortar structure or pre-built modular structures.
The club were hoping to move their youth teams across from Golden Hill at the end of March when the lease runs out on the site – but that looks likely to be put on the back burner until the summer as work on the surface at the site is set to begin imminently.
Rovers had also been optimistic in earmarking the possibility of getting enough work completed to move the first team over to the site for the start of next season.
The job, however, is bigger than first thought and the club had been sensible in already doing a deal to remain at their current Cribbs Causeway training base.
The club are hopeful that the first of their 'legacy projects' will be fully completed by the summer 2018.The designs for the project are believed to include several football pitches, floodlights, modern changing room space, catering and refectory facilities and office space to allow Clarke and his backroom staff to be permanently based at the centre.
The plans will also include the construction of facilities that would initially meet Category 3 Academy status with the possibility of applying for upgrade to Category 2 status in the longer-term.
