Coalpit Heath golf store approved despite concerns

Plans for an "absolutely huge" storage barn at a golf club have been approved, despite objections from some local residents.

South Gloucestershire Council members granted permission for the 16,145 sq ft (1,500 sq m) building around a new service yard at The Kendleshire Course in Coalpit Heath near Bristol.

It will be used to store trailers, mowers, fuel and equipment.

Residents had raised concerns over noise and the impact on wildlife.

The 7m (22ft)-high structure is set to replace an existing off-site store which is being bulldozed and replaced with new homes.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, residents are angry because they believed that planning consent had been granted for the current site's demolition and new houses on the basis that the club would not require a new building.

Neighbour David Tooze told the meeting: "This is a massive 1,500 sq m intrusion into the greenbelt that happens to be twice the size of the existing facilities.

"It is not for recreational purposes, there is no benefit for the golfers or anyone else, it's purely to enable financial gain to be made in an application to build five luxury houses on the current site of the existing facilities."

However, officers recommended approving the plans after concluding the impact on residents and the building's design were not unacceptable.

National planning policy gives golf clubs and other outdoor sports facilities an exception for development in the greenbelt as long as they "preserve the openness" of the countryside.

Officers said the grounds store was essential for the clubs operations, the floorspace was justified and the applicants had reduced the height by one metre during the planning process.

In the end councillors voted 5-2 in favour of the application.

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