Steve Waggott met with the local press this afternoon to discuss matters on and off the pitch, including the screening opinion applications that were made to Ribble Valley Borough Council last week.

The club has outlined its intention to consolidate their two training centres at Brockhall into one state-of-the-art facility at the site of their current Academy base, within which the Senior Training Centre would be sold off for housing development.

The Rovers chief executive responded to questions from the Lancashire Telegraph about the plans.

Q: Who is behind this project, is this you pushing forward with this, is it the owners, or a collective, who’s been involved in the decision-making process to put these plans together?

Steve Waggott: It’s been a collective, I see it as a way forward. Tony Mowbray always has Under-23s players up here, and younger players, Stuart Jones at the Academy he buys into it and sees all the positives of an integrated model and staff and players being under one roof.

It’s a collective really but as chief executive I’m driving this forward.

Q: Is there a back-up plan if, for whatever reason, this can’t happen?

SW: We’d still have the two centres here, I may have a further discussion about the viability of switching the two sites so the first-team go back there (the Academy site) with modifications to the current facility and the Academy come up here because both sites fit Category One status.

Q: With the land on the STC have you got assurance, or are the club seeking it, that the land can be sold for housing?

SW: I’m looking at all the backdrop to that. Obviously around Brockhall there’s a settlement boundary, the Academy down the hill, the lower site, is built outside the settlement and is built on green field so you can never build houses on there as the planning status currently stands.

This settlement (the STC), we’re looking into whether there are any covenants, restrictive covenants, that preclude us from doing that and we’re looking into that.

Q: And that would have a say on things because if someone is going to buy the land they’re going to want to develop and needs to know that’s available?

SW: That's the only increase in value from what it is valued as now, from the way we utilise it, to how much it could be valued at is with the planning permission for however many, if any at all, units you can build on this site.

Q: If this does go through, what percentage of the money made from the STC sale would be needed to fund the all-encompassing site?

SW: I think it’ll be 100 per cent for the new one, with potential top-ups as well, depending on the specification of the new site. But all of the money generated from the sale of the STC will have to go into the new facility, whether that’s on the building, on more stitch pitches, gym equipment of a certain level, it might sound a lot of money, whatever millions we get from this, depending on how many, if any, are allowed to built on this site, but that’s all going to have to go on the new facility.

Q: So financially, that’s not played a part in this decision?

SW: The importance is, 'is there any way we can use this site to cross finance the new build?'. If it’s a no from the parish council or the Ribble Valley Borough Council because of various issues, that’s fine, then we have to look at how we utilise the two sites here in terms of what’s most beneficial to the first-team going forward as well as maintaining our Category One Academy status.

Q: Is the covenant at the bottom site the reason that you’re looking to book the all-encompassing site there rather than the STC?

SW: Yes, there’s no way we could build houses on the bottom site, it’s green field land, it’s sports ground, and with the current planning status there’s no way you could build on that site unless you’ve got some special dispensation from the office of the deputy Prime Minister, or whoever you have to go through, but it’s too complicated so as this site is within the settlement then this is the preferred site, or the only, for the residential to cross finance the other centre down the hill.

Q: Has the club approached, or been approached by, someone who would be looking to take that on already?

SW: Too early, it’s pointless until we get an indication from the parish council and the borough council as to whether, in principle, they would agree to it. If they say they disagree with it, then I’d be a busy fool. This is first base, just establishing whether it’s acceptable or not. Time will tell.

We’ll have a consultation period, we’ll put in the plans, and then we’ll have to wait for the decision. If the decision is yes, then we move to phase two and then it’s a very detailed phase where we have to look at the detail of the Category One Academy as well as the utilisation of the first-team down there as well. There’s a lot of work to do.

Q: And is that when you’d be able to go to supporters and say ‘these are what the plans look like?’

SW: We have some outline sketches, if you’ve seen the design and access statement you’d have saw some broad brush maps and other things with lines on it, but they’re just the boundaries, that’s all that is at the moment.