Planning approved for Elite football centre in Doncaster   

The Doncaster Council planning committee approved proposals for the mass sporting facility, known as the Doncaster City Elite Training Centre at its second appearance before the panel.

The committee refused the previous application for the training centre over concerns for the green belt and the “loss of good quality of life” for the owner-occupiers of two cottages whose properties would have been surrounded by the facility.

Charles Dunn, who was representing the applicant, football agent Willie McKay, said his client had “listened really carefully to the complaints previously raised”.

The committee heard how the applicant had entered a “property purchase agreement” with the owner-occupiers of Martin Grange Cottage and Ravenglade Cottage.

It means both properties are now part of the development and no longer “completely enclosed” by it, as described by Collette King, a resident of Martin Grange Cottage, during the previous committee meeting in February 2026.

The committee heard how the owner-occupiers of the properties had now reversed their objections and submitted letters of support for the application.

Dave Richards, planning team leader at Doncaster Council, told the panel the proposals were “broadly identical to the previous submission,” with the key change being the purchase and inclusion of Martin Grange Cottage and Ravenglade Cottage.

The centre would operate on a “year-round basis,” according to the planning reports, but with peak use during the football season, including “full-board five-star hotel accommodation for elite teams, supported by permanent hospitality, service, maintenance and security staff”.

It would feature five full size football pitches, three dedicated goalkeeper training areas, three warm-up and technical training areas, a covered “show pitch stand” with 499 seats, spectators’ toilets and elevated camera platform, a padel court building, car parking provision and more.

The proposals had received letters of support from local MP, Lee Pitcher, and elite professional football clubs from around the world, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, LA Galaxy in the USA and Racing Club de Strasbourg in France.

This article was authored by Harry Harrison for Yorkshire Post  and published under the title 'Elite football centre on Yorkshire greenbelt land approved after applicant buys objectors’ homes', on Elite football centre on Yorkshire greenbelt land approved after applicant buys objectors’ homes. It is reproduced above in accordance with section 30(2) of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.