SWINDON Town Football Club is hoping to move into its new training ground by July if planning permission can be obtained.

Last year, it was revealed chairman Lee Power had purchased Twelve Oaks Golf Course near Highworth with the intention of making it a permanent facility.

Plans for the full development of the site are still being drawn up as the club say much work is needed to properly transform the site.

In the meantime, the club have asked to convert the existing driving range into a two pitches so the players can move over as soon as possible.

A document with the application reads: “Since leaving King Edward in Liddington, STFC have not had a permanent base for training within the borough which has resulted in the Clubs’ various teams training all over and outside of Swindon, which is not particularly beneficial to the club as a whole for obvious reasons.

“However, the club have recently acquired the former Twelve Oaks Golf Course site near Highworth which is intended over time to be developed into a purpose built training facility.

“This will allow the club to relocate all tiers, from the first team to the academy and the Football in the Community Trust, to a single site, which will provide numerous practical benefits to the club and surrounding area.

“Due to the scale of the overall project it will require significant preparation and design work to be undertaken, and a full planning application for the site will be delivered in due course.

“In the interim, the club intend to provide to full sized grass pitches on the existing driving range site which can be delivered relatively quickly in order to move the first team over for pre-season training in July 2016, subject to planning permission.”

As it stands, the club have been training at Beversbrook in Calne but have also been using Gerrard Buxton Sports Ground in Royal Wootton Bassett due to flooding.