A new players' lodge at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground was approved tonight.

Plans to convert and renovate buildings at Myddelton Farm, adjacent to Hotspur Way, in Bulls Cross, received consent from Enfield Borough Council planning committee.

The Premier League club moved onto the site in 2007 with ambitions to build a 'world class' training ground.

But people living nearby have often opposed Spurs' planning applications.

Ivan Minter, of Bulls Cross, who lives next to the lodge, believes the club is continuing to “creep” onto green belt land.

He told the committee: “I believe that if Spurs had put their current plan to the table for the whole site then it would have been rejected but they have continued to build on green belt land.

“This application will impact on our home and who knows how many more developments there will be.”

Dennis Stacey, from the council's conservation advisory group, voiced similar concerns.

He said: “They [Spurs] are creeping and creeping away at the green belt and we get these applications every couple of years.”

However, Richard Serra, who represented the Premier League side, said that the club had been through a thorough consultation.

He said: “Since we bought the land in 2007, the site has turned into a success story in developing talent from the borough and helping schools in the area.

“Apologies to any Chelsea fans in the room but five of the eleven that started that match were developed in our academy with Ryan Mason and Andros Townsend both coming from Enfield.”

Many panel members believed that the 45-room facility would not impact on green belt land, with Cllr George Savva going as far to say that it would “improve” the green belt, some of which he compared to a “jungle.”

The committee voted to approve the plans with eight in favour and three against.