THE new Prairie Sports Village is rapidly taking shape with work starting on the main structure and footballers already training there.

The new modern building, on Burnley’s Prairie playing fields site, will house an 18-bay golf range and a development centre.

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The highly-anticipated pavilion will boast a number of meeting and multi-purpose rooms along with a golf pro shop, full teaching facilities for the golf range and a welcoming reception area.

There are also plans for a sports bar and bistro with a cosy lounge and relaxation spot.

In addition, the new football changing facilities will replace the old ones at the site that werehave now been demolished.

The project, which received £700,000 of funding from Football Foundation and Sport England and is to be completed in the summer 2015, has now entered phase two of the development with structural steelwork already in place.

Cranes, helmets and high visibility vest will be dominating the site until summer as Barnfield Construction gets to work.

The first phase of this revamp of Burnley’s Prairie playing fields was completed in October last year with the newly installed floodlit 3G football pitch.

Both Burnley FC in the Community and Burnley FC Women and Girls are holding training evenings and development programmes at the venue, as part of a limited programme until the main village is completed.

Barnfield Construction’s site manager, Myles Toole, said: “The cladding is now complete and we are then looking to pour the first floor concrete slab and once the frost lifts we can commence the block work to the external walls.

“The driving range is now complete apart from seeding which will take place in April.”

Burnley Leisure facilities manager Neil Hutchinson said: “I am really excited about this project that is being developed by the council and will be managed by Burnley Leisure.

“The development is unique for the area and I am confident that it will not only serve the people of Burnley, but also bring visitors into the area from the surrounding golf clubs.”

“This is set to be a hub for both adult and junior golf development in the borough whilst also providing multi-use facilities, which will be utilised for other leisure and junior activities, particularly during the school holidays.”