HRH The Earl of Wessex celebrates horticultural excellence at Hotspur Way

HRH The Earl of Wessex, in his role as Patron of the London Gardens Society, visited our Training Centre at Hotspur Way, Enfield, in recognition of the facility’s horticultural excellence.

The Training Centre won a prestigious gold medal at the 2017 London Gardens Society Awards and is regularly featured at the annual Enfield in Bloom celebration.

The Earl was joined by Chairman, Daniel Levy, Executive Director, Donna-Maria Cullen, Head of Playing Surfaces and Estates, Darren Baldwin, and guests from the London Gardens Society on a tour of the grounds.

This included our unique Kitchen Garden, where the Club organically grows fruit and vegetables served within its First Team and Academy restaurants, the site of the Club’s future Environmental Centre and Nature Reserve, and our new player accommodation Lodge.

Situated on the site of Myddelton Farm adjacent to our Training Centre, the private facility recently opened with its first guests, the Brazil national team, who used The Lodge as a training base ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The scheme’s design has seen the sensitive conversion of the original farmhouse, making full use of its key features and heritage. The Lodge has recently reached the Finals of the London Construction Awards for sustainability, architecture and women in construction.

The Training Centre itself opened in summer 2012 on a 77 acre greenbelt site in the London Borough of Enfield and is home to the Club’s First Team and Academy.

It has 15 outdoor grass pitches, including four dedicated for First Team training, floodlit outdoor artificial pitches and an architecturally-designed main building, including an ETFE covered indoor pitch facility.

The Training Centre has been designed with environmental protection and sustainability in mind, helping to create a highly energy efficient building which far exceeds the requirements of Building Regulations – it is the most environmentally friendly Training Centre in Europe.

Over 10 per cent of energy is produced on site through renewable sources, while a key focus has been on enhancing and reinstating key features of the local environment.