Golf club proposes to build 800 homes
A golf club near Watford is planning to build hundreds of homes on land it owns.
It also hopes to become at least the third English golf club in recent months to build football pitches on its venue.
Chiltern Hills Golf Club has proposed to build 800 homes on a plot of greenbelt land, according to the Hertfordshire Mercury.
The golf club has submitted two planning applications to Three Rivers District Council, one outlining plans for 800 homes and the other for 300.
Currently the land is being used as farmland for grazing with a barn in the northeast corner.
The club has said it would be prepared to withdraw the plans for 800 homes if the council approves the plan for 300 homes.
Under the plans for the 300-home site, a larger proportion of the greenbelt land would be kept in comparison to the plans for 800 homes.
Under both the 300 and 800-home plans, a neighbourhood park would also be created.
In terms of the homes, a mixture of housing has been proposed including semi-detached houses, terrace houses, maisonettes and apartment buildings.
Chiltern Hills Golf Club has said that 45 per cent of the homes will be affordable.
Green courtyards would be created for children at the centre of the development, there will be tree-lined corridors and new cycle and pedestrian routes will be created connecting to wider open space networks.
Chiltern Hills Golf Club has already been granted permission for a new 18-hole golf course, and it hopes to build a green plateau which will be used for a series of football pitches and a driving range.
These proposed facilities could then be provided to Chorleywood Common Youth Football Club.
Golf clubs building football pitches has become an unexpected trend in recent months.
At the end of last year Kirkby Valley Golf Club in Liverpool submitted an application to build pitches and a few weeks later East Sussex National Resort applied for planning permission to build a pitch ‘to broaden its customer base’.
They should include a membership in the price of the house, this way they will never have to worry about profitability of the golf course !!!
Encouraging development on excess land is a very smart move in attempts to sustain memberships !! Of course, the question becomes, “is it the right type of housing ?” The kind and type that will attract those, more likely to join a club !! In most cases, here in the states, that means homes that appeal to the baby boomer generation ! One reason, why full and complete understanding of your primary market and those in it is so important and valuable !!