A recycled temporary marquee to house indoor training for Gloucestershire club Forest Green Rovers has been rejected as "unattractive" by planners.

As part of the Nailsworth-based club's transition from The New Lawn in Forest Green, owner Dale Vince plans a £100m new stadium at Junction 13, near Eastington, on the M5.

Preliminary work has been under way since last year at the Eco Park site with the creation of training pitches which, Mr Vince recently announced, will enable all teams at the club to train in one place as of the start of the new season in the National League.

Players have been using facilities at Stanley Park in Chippenham after relocating in 2017 from a training base at Cirencester's Royal Agricultural University.

But a request from Ecotricity to Stroud District Council for a relocation of the club's temporary 600 sqm white marquee and use at the Eco Park site for three years has now been rejected.

Gemma Davis, SDC planning officer, told the council that the request for the 18m by 15m tent was "not considered to be imperative or essential in this rural countryside location," adding that it was "not operationally functional due to the lack of welfare facilities to support the intended use."

She said: "The development by virtue of the siting, as well as the scale of the substantial structure and the appearance of the materials used, would cause harm to the landscape and the setting of the industrial heritage conservation area through the erosion of its open setting, and the physical impacts of the development upon this setting.

"The planning application leads to less than substantial harm to the significance of the designated heritage asset and there are insufficient public benefits that would outweigh this harm."

She concluded: "The development by virtue of its size, scale, appearance and the materials proposed would result in a stark unattractive building that is of poor quality in a prominent sensitive location."

In a letter to Cheltenham-based Ridge and Partners, who act as agents for Ecotricity New Ventures Ltd, the council said no formal preapplication discussions had been held. 

SDC added: "The proposal for an indoor training facility to support Forest Green Rovers Football club is not considered to be imperative or essential in this rural countryside location. The proposal also is not operationally functional due to the lack of welfare facilities to support the intended use. The proposal is deemed to be a more desirable form of development rather than essential."