A planning application to provide enlarged gym facilities and changing facilities, including a new grounds maintenance building, at Crystal Palace Football Club’s training ground has been approved.
The planning approval for the proposal on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) in Copers Cope Road in Beckenham supports the wider sporting use of the site, with the very special circumstances outweighing the harm of the increased scale of the structures.
The proposal also includes the demolition of the existing garage and grounds maintenance building and removal of existing water tank/silos. It entails the construction of single storey and two storey extensions to the gym and medical block, with a new grounds maintenance building and water tank with pump house and an enlarged car park.
Councillor Alexa Michael, Chairman of Development Control Committee, said: “We were persuaded by the very special circumstances in support of this relatively modest proposal, which is also in keeping with principles established in previous planning decisions. We were required to focus on the material planning considerations to determine this application rather than the wider concerns.”
The approval decision at the Development Control Committee on 10 April 2025 followed the earlier deferral at a Plans Sub Committee meeting the previous month, with some local residents opposing the Football Club’s plan.
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