Mansfield club fears new competition
By Alistair Dunsmuir
A golf club in Mansfield has written to its local council to oppose the building of a major new golf venue in the area.
Mansfield Woodhouse Golf Club is sited next to the proposed Park Hall Golf Resort development, which will transform 120 acres of farmland into a golf course and 60-bedroom hotel with villas and lodges, creating over 300 jobs in the process, according to developer Vital Property.
However, the existing club is concerned that a new facility will take away much-needed business and even lead to it being closed down.
- “There is already a golf course in the area and the development will take away business,” said a spokesman. “There is spare capacity and no waiting list.
- “Mansfield Woodhouse Golf Club has been in operation since 1972, providing the local community with a facility for golfers of all abilities and ages to learn and enjoy the game of golf. The proposal will make this existing course redundant.
- “And a planning permission granted for a hotel at this existing site in 1979 was not allowed to commence.”
- Local residents have also written to the council expressing concern over the loss of wildlife that the development would lead to.
- Vital Property’s managing director Jason Lucas said Mansfield risked being left in the ‘dark ages’ if it turned down the development.“It will be delivered as a comprehensive development which will be an asset to Mansfield, create employment and assist in increasing visitor numbers to the town,” he said.
“It will be the first time that Mansfield has had such a high quality ‘destination’ resort.
“The golf course itself has been designed by internationally-renowned golf course designer Jonathan Gaunt and the master plan and buildings by Jackson Design Associates.”
He added that the development is “different to anything else in the area”.
- Mansfield District Council recommended that the site be granted outline planning permission just before Christmas.
By Alistair Dunsmuir
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Seems like the golf course in question sold out, they have an agreement with the developers where they are supposed to get the beginners directed to them. This of course means nothing. The developers justified the amount of landfill was required otherwise the course would be flat and boring. Now without that landfil it is challending and interesting even though Jonathan Gaunt has called it short by modern standard. If this course ever gets built it will certainly become a a huge white elephant, especially now that a new hotel is going to be built in the middle of the town,
This shows a total lack of respect for resident and businesses by a council in an area which is alredy served by 7 other golf courses. The Mansfield Woodhouse golf course offers great facilities for all ages of golfers of every ability. To lose this will be a tragedy and severe blow to grass roots golf.The proposed development is a mediocre course that is too short which will not be challenging enough. How this course is going to sustain the proposed accommodation is unrealistic especially with the lack of other facilities usually found at other resort locations.
How this could put the area back to the dark ages is laughable, such drivel along with the lack of firm details from a company experienced in running a golf resort, leads me to believe that this is a ploy to misuse the name of Golf to facilitate a land fill and the destruction of greenfield land. This can only be bad for the image of Golf