Swindon Town say hopes for a new £6 million training complex at Highworth remain very much alive.

Club owner Lee Power bought the site of the old Twelve Oaks Golf Club in 2015 and wants to build a state-of-the-art facility for the current Sky Bet League 2 leaders, as well as houses and a racehorse training centre.

But Highworth councillors are unconvinced by the proposed development. The town council has recommended that the plans be rejected over concerns that include noise and light pollution, and the affect it might have on Highworth Town FC.

There is renewed hope at the club that the plans will be approved at the start of the new year following positive responses from the Wiltshire FA and Sport England.

Mr Power said: “We have worked tirelessly to secure planning for our development – this has been a huge financial and resource cost with our team working long hours and weekends to meet local authority timetables.

"This development has been an extremely complex application, and we are positive we meet all the criteria set out to secure this planning application.

"The current golf club at Twelve Oaks is obsolete and dated. It has always been our intention, to take this building and deliver our state-of-the-art training facility, which has so many positive benefits. We hope to see this planning secured in January 2020.”

The Swindon Town first team recently had to move training sessions to both Melksham and Hungerford at the last minute due to heavy rainfall and a lack of access to alternative pitches at the current Beversbrook training facility in Calne.

The proposed facility would feature a purpose-built training centre, gymnasium and offices, eight grass training pitches and a full-size all-weather illuminated pitch within the new 26,000 sq ft complex. The existing golf club building would become the players’ restaurant.

A spokesman for Sport England added: “By providing new pitches that could help address established playing pitch deficiencies, the proposal would meet objective three and therefore Sport England supports this application in principle.

“I note that 10 new employment roles will be created as a result of this development which is to be welcomed.

“Swindon has an up to date and robust Playing Pitch Strategy which is in line with paragraph 96 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

“The applicants are proposing up to 20 hours of community use on both natural and artificial pitches, including full weekend use of the artificial grass pitch throughout the year.

“However, I believe this should be secured by a planning condition. I have had dialogue with the FA who are supportive of the scheme but also feel that there needs to be a condition to secure the community use.”