Plans for major upgrade at The Nottinghamshire rejected

A proposal to create a new purpose-built golf centre at The Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club has been controversially rejected.

In August, the club submitted plans to add a storey to its existing facility in order to create five indoor teaching bays, a new multi-purpose room, a ball store, an office, toilets and a golf simulator, which would have created at least four jobs.

However, Rushcliffe Borough Council has rejected the scheme.

The Nottinghamshire’s owner, Alan Hardy, who has brought in several improvements to the facility in the last 12 years, reacted to the news with a series of tweets that were critical of the council.

He said that a nearby and large crematorium was originally refused planning permission but won on appeal – and if The Nottinghamshire also wins on appeal then the council would have to foot its legal costs.

According to a report, two councillors changed their minds at the last minute on the grounds that an extension to the driving range would constitute “an addition of sizable height and massing that would harm the openness of the green belt.”

The pair said they “hadn’t fully appreciated the green belt aspect and the close proximity [of the proposed centre] to residential properties.”