Accrington Stanley have today agreed a long-term lease with Hyndburn Borough Council to develop King George V Playing Fields into the club's new permanent training facility.
The club has been working with Hyndburn Borough Council on this for a number of years, with the proposal going through the Council Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 17th March.
Work will now begin to drain and reinstate the grass pitches, changing rooms and car park, with the site set to become the training facility for the first team, the under-23s, the youth team and eventually the club's academy as well as some community-based programmes driven by the football club.
David Burgess, Stanley's Managing Director said: "We have worked closely with Hyndburn Borough Council for some time now in sorting a long-term lease for the facility. There is some work to do to get the pitches drained and prepared for daily use and we are delighted that finally we have a dedicated training facility for the club."
"It should give us a better opportunity to attract elite players and develop them into better players. We can also improve the academy programme and include some community-based football programmes too."
Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of Hyndburn Council said: "Hyndburn Borough Council have owned this land since 1938 and it has been a great source of joy for many grassroots organisations over the years. Community football has changed the way it operates and over recent years, the land no longer gets the use it deserves.
"Prior to COVID-19, our King George V Playing Fields were booked just two hours per week on average, booking pitches to play through the council was not something our community was utilising.
"The lease with Accrington Stanley means that going forward the pitch will be used for around 30 hours per week and we will also establish a community use agreement which will be approved by Sport England and the Football Foundation."
Please CLICK HERE to view the lease plan for King George V Playing Fields.