Aston Villa training ground extension approved

The project is the latest in a series of improvements at Bodymoor Heath

Plans for Aston Villa to expand their Bodymoor Heath training ground have been approved.

The Premier League club applied to North Warwickshire District Council for permission to create a two-storey extension to the main building at the facility.

Documents show the expansion would create a bigger and updated dining and nutrition area at first floor level for senior and junior teams.

The project is the latest in a series of improvements at the Warwickshire training ground, with work under way to create better facilities for the club's women and youth teams and a permanent new office space for administrative and media staff.

Marginal gains 'key'

In the application, the club said it was "important" for them to improve their facilities to support its "ambition to stay at the top of elite levels of men's football, where marginal gains are key to success".

The current dining facilities are "inadequate" to meet the current sport science requirements the club demands, they added.

A council report, which recommended that the plans were approved, said that the new development is "appropriate" for the green belt site, because it would cause "limited harm" to the openness of the landscape.

In the pipeline is a new centre with 40 bedrooms for players and staff to stay on site when they return from evening games.

A purpose-built academy centre is also being built, following the demolition of a number of buildings, as well as a new 3G pitch, covered by a 15-metre dome.