DEVELOPMENT UPDATE 27-06-2024
To: All members of the Newbury & Crookham Golf Club
I just wanted to provide a further update on the current status of the planning applications.
As you are aware the application for the proposed redevelopment of the existing clubhouse and ancillary buildings to provide a new, enlarged clubhouse, reconfigured car park, reconfigured garden spaces associated with on-site clubhouse accommodation and associated landscaping (Planning Application 22/01400/FUL) was refused by the council on 16th April 2024.
We have still to receive any formal decisions upon the Proposed residential development of 31 dwellings, with associated landscaping, vehicular access and parking (Planning Application 22/01448/FULEXT), although correspondence has been received by our Planning Consultant in the last few days to inform us that it is likely that permission will be refused.
As it stands, neither Chartfield Homes nor the Golf Club have submitted an appeal for either the refusal of planning permission for the club house or for the non-determination of the residential development. The Options contract the Golf Club have with Chartfield Homes allows for extension of time in this situation to allow for appeals for refusal or non-determination, the Management Committee however have agreed an extension to the contract to allow time to determine how both parties should proceed.
Those of you out on the course last Wednesday afternoon may have seen a convoy of buggies exploring parts of the course. We have engaged the services of a leading planning barrister to provide strategic advice on how we should proceed, and we were taking the opportunity to not only review the proposal, applications and paperwork, but also for the barrister to have access to both sites to understand the issues firsthand.
At this point, the Golf Club has engaged the services of the barrister to:
Review the Application materials and the planning responses;
Perform a site visit and discuss the proposal with the committee;
Follow up with an advisory meeting to provide advice regarding the prospects of succeeding with an appeal and advise on how the Golf Club should proceed.
The meeting took place with all parties represented, Richard Potts from Chartfield Homes, our planning consultant Jonathan Walton, with Nick Vanstone, Roger Harman, David Ashworth, Gareth Williams, Philip Piper and Derek Nutley representing the golf club. We discussed the current applications and explored alternate approaches.
We are now waiting on a written report jointly from the barrister and our planning consultant with the findings and recommendations. We will share the report’s recommendations with you all as soon as the information is available.
As we plan for the next phase in the process based on the advice received from the barrister, we are proposing setting up a “working party” to work with the existing Development Sub-Committee and Management Committee and are looking for volunteers. If you are interested, please contact Gareth or me and we would be happy to discuss.
Regards
Derek Nutley
Chairman of the Management Committee