Ryder Cup: Bolton Council rejects Hulton Park course scheme

Plans for a £414m scheme which aimed to bring one of golf's most prestigious events to Bolton have been rejected.

Developers Peel hoped a "championship-grade" course on the Hulton Park site would secure the 2031 Ryder Cup.

However, Bolton Council's planning committee heard a claim that the plans, which included 1,000 new homes, were a "housing project in golf clothing".

Councillors voted to reject the proposals because of the impact on green belt land.

The town's planners had recommended the scheme for approval in January.

Peel's Richard Knight said Bolton had "quite possibly missed out on the biggest investment in its history".

He said the council had "approved the previous scheme", which was then called in because of the use of green belt land, "and encouraged us to make positive changes".

"It has done a U-turn at the last hurdle," he said.

"It is hard to comprehend, but evidently very localised opposition has taken priority over all of the potential benefits for Bolton."

The developer had hoped to build a course which would accommodate 70,000 spectators on the Georgian Hulton Park site in Westhoughton, alongside more than 1,000 houses on nearby farmland.

After being called in, the secretary of state said it could go ahead if the proposed course won a bid to host the biennial golf competition between America and Europe's best golfers in 2031 or 2035.

Speaking in favour of the development, CBI North West's Damian Waters said it represented a "once-in a generation opportunity to transform the Bolton economy", while University of Bolton's president Prof George Holmes said it would bring "prosperity to the town and much-needed national and international attention".

The planning committee also heard from former Ladies European Tour golfer Sophie Walker, who said watching the Ryder Cup in Paris had been the "best sporting experience" of her life and bringing it to Bolton would "inspire" people to play golf.

However, campaigners against the plans, which included Westhoughton-born actress Maxine Peake, told the planning committee meeting the development would cause significant environmental damage.

Protester Phil Wood said the plans were a "housing project in golf clothing" disguise and claimed once the Ryder Cup was over, the developer would build more houses on the land.

Historian Elaine Taylor also spoke, urging councillors to preserve the Grade II-listed Georgian park and its surrounding landscape.

Following the submissions, all but one councillor voted to reject the plans.

Committee chairman John Walsh cited the impact on the green belt land and congestion concerns as the reason for the refusal, while Councillor Christopher Hill added that "money and property does not outweigh nature".

Peel has a right to appeal the decision, which could lead to a public inquiry and the final say on the project being left to the secretary of state.

However, a decision on the host for the 2031 Ryder Cup is expected in July.

The last English course to stage the tournament was the Belfry in Warwickshire in 2002.

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