Planning Permission Granted for the Remodelling of a Golf Course in London’s Metropolitan Green Belt

We are really please that Mole Valley has granted planning permission for the remodelling of an under-used fairway at an established golf course in Surrey into short game practice area.

The works would involve the creation of two new target greens and enlarged practice tee.The existing golf club is located within the Metropolitan Green Belt, but is within a semi-rural location on the fringes of London and Surrey.

The planning issues in this case were whether the development was accepted in principle given its Green Belt location, it’s impact upon existing trees and the impact upon neighbouring residential amenity. We put forward a strong case that was able to demonstrate that the proposed scheme was fully compliant with national and local planning policy.

The proposal of the remodelling of an under-used fairway into a short game practice area is considered an engineering operation for planning purposes. The location of the proposed development is currently underused land which previously acted as a fairway. The land for both new target greens and the enlarged practice tee would be increased by approximately 1 metre in height across a limited area. The creation of the practice areas is a necessary and complimentary facility for the golf club. Given its sports related function, the Council agreed that these engineering works constituted appropriate development in the Green Belt.

We were also able to demonstrate that even though the proposal would require the use of earth moving equipment, none of the surrounding trees would be undisturbed. Furthermore, no trees would be removed as part of the application.

This application represents an example of how a golf club could update and remodel its on-site facilities to diversify and increase its offer to its club members and customers.

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