Brentwood News, Brentwood Sport, Leisure and local information From The Brentwood Weekly News

Green belt fears hit golf club plan

From the archive, first published Thursday 15th Mar 2007.

DEVELOPERS are set to appeal over multimillion-pound plans to redesign a golf course, after councillors turned them down.

Rochford District Council's development control committee went against the advice of its officers and rejected the scheme for Lords Golf Club, formerly the Hanover, in Hullbridge Road, Rayleigh.

Owners Shane Murphy and Derek Govey had put forward the proposals, which involve a £3.5million remodelling of the whole course, after buying it last year.

Councillors rejected the plan after Heather Glynn (Con, Hawkwell) said it was inappropriate development in the green belt.

Chris Black (Lib Dem, Downhall and Rawreth) abstained from voting, but wanted to see an amendment that would stop lorries using Watery Lane as an access route to the site.

Other councillors were worried the remodelling of the golf course would prodcue a lot of debris that would be left as landfill.

A disappointed Mr Murphy said: "We are going to appeal now on this application because it met all the criteria which the council required.

"There is no question of this becoming a landfill site. We paid £3million to buy the club and we are spending another £6million on the clubhouse and the course itself.

"We wouldn't be spending that sort of money on a landfill site, as we wouldn't even get it back. This is a long-term investment on a major golfing facility."

He said a new application would be submitted to the council next week with a further expert environmental assessment.

Mr Murphy said: "We have been prepared to do everything we can to meet with the requirements of the planning system and this was clearly shown by the officers' recommendation."