Hardy’s golf club plans thrown out after two councillors perform U-turn
Alan Hardy’s plans to create a new golf centre at The Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club were thrown out after councillors raised concerns about the building’s impact on its Greenbelt surroundings – with two members of the planning committee performing a U-turn at the eleventh hour.
In August, the golf club submitted plans to add a second storey to the side and rear of its existing facility in order to create a purpose-built centre for the teaching of the sport.
As we reported on Monday, those plans were rejected, prompting Hardy to post a stinging riposte on social media.
Yesterday it was revealed that the plans were knocked back on the grounds that an extension to the driving range would constitute “an addition of sizable height and massing that would harm the openness of the Green Belt.”
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s report added that the building would therefore not be “an appropriate outdoor recreational facility” under paragraph 149b) of the 2021 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
It has also emerged that two members of the planning committee, Councillor Richard Butler and Councillor Leo Healy, voted to object after initially backing the proposals.
The pair said they “hadn’t fully appreciated the Greenbelt aspect and the close proximity [of the proposed centre] to residential properties.”
In light of the news, Hardy has taken to social media again – this time raising the prospect of an appeal.
He said: “What a huge waste of [the] public purse if we have to appeal it, win and then @Rushcliffe would have to pick up all the legal costs for both sides. Not sure Council Leader Cllr Simon Robinson would consider that a good use of monies.”
Hardy has owned the Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club since 2010. In that time he has presided over a number of major transformations including the creation of a new access road, a refurbished bar and the introduction of new water harvesting lakes.
