Local consultation pledged as developer awaits outcome of screening request
A bid to transform an old golf course near the Forest of Bowland into an up-market holiday village have taken a step forward.
Planners acting for Preston-based GHV have submitted a screening request to Preston City Council seeking clarity on whether a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required for the redevelopment of Goosnargh Golf Club on Inglewhite Road.
This follows extensive pre-application discussions led by PWA Planning.
Joshua Hellawell, senior planner at PWA, said: “Our assessment is that a full EIA won’t be necessary, but this is a formal step required to clarify that point.”
GHV has promised a full public consultation will be undertaken for its proposed regeneration of the former pay-as-you-go 9-hole course.
Its plans for the abandoned 64-acre site centre on a luxury tourism destination which will provide upmarket lodges and ‘glamping’ pitches, as well as a range of leisure facilities, including an indoor heated pool, tennis courts, games room, bar, restaurant and spa.
Peter Allen, of GHV, said it is vital the public gets a say on the plans and that a full consultation will be launched shortly so the public can see the emerging proposals in detail.
He said: “We are in the middle of productive discussions with Preston City Council which have helped shape and improve our proposals and we’ll shortly be seeking the input of local residents.”
The scheme’s design, from the Preston studio of Frank Whittle Partnership, takes into account a protected wildlife corridor running through the site. Mr Allen added: “It’s important that the whole development sits harmoniously within the landscape.”
Goosnargh Golf Course was opened as a ‘pay as you go’ facility in 2005 and closed at the start of the pandemic.
The plans include 97 woodland lodges, 30 lakeside lodges, 33 caravan pitches, 30 tent/camp pitches and nine glamping pods/chalets.
GHV hopes to submit a planning application by the end of spring.
If approved, the scheme would create more than 100 full-time equivalent jobs and add £2.5m per annum to the local economy in wages and £1.9m through visitor expenditure. A further 45 jobs would be created during the project’s construction phase.
