Golf Application Goes To Appeal

Last December the District Council refused a planning application for a golf course near the Chichester Hotel in Rawreth. Though it seemed more like an excuse to dump hundreds of thousand of tonnes of earth. Officers recommended approval, but one of us called it in to committee and we won the vote. You can still download the officers report here – it starts on page 8.

This is what we wrote at the time on onlinefocus:

The Golf Course application near the Chichester in Rawreth was refused tonight. Parish Council Chairman Alistir Matthews began by setting out the parish council?s objections. Chris Black and Ron Oatham then moved refusal on the grounds of:
loss of residential amenity during the construction period ( hundreds of thousands of tons of earth being moved there over 2 1/2 years)
loss of residential amenity when completed (one example was the position of the 9th hole and the 9th green)
flood risk concerns during the construction period
flood risk concerns when completed
position of the access onto the A129, especially during the construction period

Councillors seemed particularly concerned about the vast quantity of material proposed to be brought to the site, some expressing the view that the application was all about making money from waste, rather than creating a golf course. In the debate we got particular support from John Mason and Michael Hoy, but when it came a vote we got support from nearly everyone , including Toby Mountain, Conservatives and UKIP.

It’s worth quoting some of the comments we had after this on onlinefocus:

To say I am delighted to read this would be an understatement. I?m sure this won?t be the end of it, but at least the ground rules are now in place

A mighty well done to all concerned ? gives me some hope of a fair hearing for the forthcoming assault on the future of West Rayleigh & Hullbridge because the issues are the same.

I am delighted it was refused it is like a heavy weight lifted from my shoulders and I cannot thank those concerned who did such a lot of work and got it sorted out.

The applicants have now gone to appeal! This appeal will be decided by written representations. We will write soon about how people can make representations – the deadline is August 24th.

refusal1

refusal2

About the author, admin

  • Chris, I’ve copied you in on a couple of e.mails re this, but I reiterate, if possible I want to speak at the appeal hearing, as a resident directly affected by this, not as a Parish Councillor.

  • I have now had confirmation that this will be decided on written representation and a site visit by the Inspector. Chris, who normally accompanies the Inspector on such visits, is it just a planning officer or is it less biased than that.

  • {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
    >