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Leicester City’s new training ground is on course to be completed by next summer despite recent bad weather proving an “absolute nightmare” for contractors McLaren.

City hope to move into their £100m state-of-the-art facility in Seagrave ahead of the 2020-21 season and construction company McLaren are working around the clock to finish the project in time.

Heavy rainfall this month, which caused severe flooding in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, has caused delays to building work, but project director Martin Burge remains confident of keeping to the schedule.

“Some bits are ahead, some bits are behind,” Burge, a City fan, told Construction News.

“The weather has killed us recently, it’s been an absolute nightmare – but we are still on target.”

McLaren were given just 77 weeks to complete the building work, with no opportunity to ask for an extension.

Burge said: “Perhaps with a different client and a different structure you’d say: ‘We need a bit more time.’

“But here it wasn’t within the client’s gift – they have a hard and fast holding point. The Premier League season starts when it starts and we have to be ready for that.”

The weather has not been the only issue.

McLaren had to alter their plans for the steel roof on the indoor training centre at the heart of the compound.

The roof weighs 1,560 tonnes – the equivalent of 21,081 Jamie Vardys – and spans 80m, and structural contractors realised the columns would not alone support the frame and that the reinforced concrete walls needed to built first.

“So we had to change our entire strategy on that,” Burge said.

“At one point we were looking at the jaws of disaster, from a programme point of view on that one.”

Before City move in, they also need to improve the A46, which runs alongside the training ground.

As part of the planning permission, the new headquarters cannot be operational until work has been carried out on the closest junction to the site, City needing to ensure the A46 can cope with increased traffic.

McLaren are helping City on this front and have submitted plans to Highways England.

“As McLaren, we can push this and get all the buildings done and fitted out, but if that road’s not done they can’t take occupation,” Burge said.

“It’s a big risk, a client-held risk, and we’re helping them to try and get that done as quickly as possible.”