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16
May
Why Harrogate Town’s £2.75m training facility plans were met with objections
Harrogate Town pointed to flood risk as its main reason for withdrawing its £2.75 million training facility plans this week — but there were multiple objections.
Town and racecourse operator Wetherby Steeplechase Committee Ltd submitted plans in December 2025 to build a clubhouse and pitches.
But the application has been withdrawn on Leeds City Council’s website in another blow to the club, which was relegated from the English Football League this month.
The decision will be a disappointment for the club and supporters. But the city council website reveals there were a long list of objections and concerns.
Here are the issues Leeds City Council's consultees, whose views are taken into account before a decision is made, flagged up.
Flood risk
The main objection — and the one which led to Town withdrawing the plan — was over flood risk.
The Environment Agency recommended the scheme be refused because it contravened national planning rules.
It said the plans fell within a “flood risk vulnerability category” and, as a result, it could not support them.
The agency said:
We object to the proposed development as it falls within a flood risk vulnerability category that is inappropriate to the flood xone in which the application site is located.
The agency went on to add in its letter to the council that the plans must be changed to comply with flood zone designation for it to support them.
Yards instead of metres
Sport England was also critical of the plans.
The government quango, which promotes active lifestyles across the country through sport, said the proposal required clarification in several areas.
It said it was unable to support the proposal because of “insufficient technical information”, in particular about the 3G pitch which it said included “almost no technical information” relating to its design.
A wide image of the clubhouse and football pitches at Harrogate Town's planned training ground.
The organisation also criticised the application for using yards instead of metres in its pitch measurements. It added “the scheme doesn’t currently include parking or turning space for coach vehicles”.
Meanwhile, Sport England said clarification was also needed over the use of the clubhouse itself. It said:
Greater clarity is required to understand how the parts of the building are proposed to be used. Community use to external groups is proposed, however there is no clarity over which changing room and toilet spaces will be made available to community users.
On this basis, at least one pair of changing rooms should meet 18m2 area of free changing space and fully compliant shower/toilet areas to provide for community users. This should also consider futureproofed use of the space, e.g. adult matches, potential women’s team use etc.
Highways concern
The council’s highways team opted to use the phrase “not currently supported” instead of objected.
However, they picked up on the concern raised by Sport England regarding coach parking.
They said:
This would be required to minimise impact on the wider car park and turning head use.
The highways department also pointed to road safety concerns being raised as a result of the proposals. It said a road safety audit, including about the planned T-junction to access the site, would need to be submitted and approved prior to planning approval.
Design and accessibility
While mostly supportive of the proposal, the council’s design team said it was “disappointing” that the structures included in the plan did not benefit from a green roof.
It said:
It is disappointing that none of the new-build structures benefits from a green roof. This would help them to sit more harmoniously within the open landscape, and to profit from the many other benefits associated with green roofs.
Meanwhile, Bairbre McKendrick, the council’s access officer, said:
I note that this facility unlike recent grassroots FA funded facilities in Leeds does not appear to include a changing places toilet. Without a changing places toilet, some disabled will not be able to come and watch any matches or training or attend any prizegiving / events. It will also mean that disabled peoples groups will be unable to hire the venue for their sporting events.
Harrogate Town response
On Thursday, Harrogate Town sought to address speculation over its plans being withdrawn.
It said the planned facility at Wetherby Racecourse because the site was in a flood zone.
Another image of Harrogate Town's planned training facility.
The club also said its planning consultants also advised to “re-submit a new application once revised plans have been considered that will meet the new requirements”.
The club statement said:
During the planning application process, we were recently notified that the Environment Agency would have to object to the application on the basis that more up to date flood mapping for the site has been released since the original planning application was submitted.
This new data now places the proposed clubhouse within a flood zone where such a development is considered incompatible. This was not identified previously during the two pre-application periods and has only come to light in the last few weeks which coincided with the end of the football season.
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