Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey has been refused permission to build a new clubhouse on protected heathland.
The club was also refused permission to demolish its existing clubhouse and build 13 homes on that site to fund the new base.
The proposed new clubhouse would have overlooked the course and removed the need for golfers to cross the busy B3032 Dorking Road.
The two planning applications encompassed a new glass-fronted clubhouse with staff accommodation, an artisans’ clubhouse, 171-space car park and access road on the heath, plus three detached houses and 10 flats on the site of the current base.
The council turned the applications down on the basis that they were not considered appropriate for green belt land, and that the new clubhouse would have ‘significant harmful impact on the openness of the site and would result in encroachment onto open green belt land and urban sprawl’, and would cause ‘further habitat fragmentation of the woodland’.
Addressing Reigate and Banstead Borough Council’s Planning Committee on January 22, club chairman Dr Alistair Wells intimated that the new clubhouse was vital for the club’s future success.
He said: “My job as chairman is to secure the future of the club for the next 100 years for the benefit of the golfers and enjoyment of all who walk on the heath. However, we need to make sure this continues by adapting to a declining and changing golf market which is increasingly competitive. We need to improve the quality and efficiency of the clubhouse to secure a sustainable social and financial future for the club and everyone who uses the heath. Our current clubhouse will cost over £3 million over the next 10 years just to maintain the fabric of the building, as opposed to an environmentally-efficient building proposed.”
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