Developers pull plans for golf course residential scheme

Plans to build up to 1,000 new homes on the site of a disused golf course on the outskirts of Birmingham may finally be out of bounds.

Bloor Homes had applied for planning permission to build the homes on the former North Worcestershire Golf Club in Northfield.

The 32.35ha site, bounded by Frankley Beeches Road, Hanging Lane, Elan Road, Josiah Road and Tessall Lane, closed at the end of March last year.

The proposals were due to have been considered at the last meeting of Birmingham’s planning committee but were withdrawn by the applicant on the day of the hearing.

What the future of the scheme may now be is unclear.

The developer had been proposing the demolition of the former club house and the construction of the new homes, together with new public open space, a primary school, multi-use community hub, new access points and associated infrastructure.

However, the scheme attracted widespread opposition for its size, impact on local infrastructure and schools, loss of open space and a likely increase in traffic volumes.

The developer had offered to create 9.73ha of new public open space to compensate for the loss of such a large amenity space. The Ecology Park would have included new wetland areas, grassland, woodland and informal recreation space.

An all-weather artificial sports pitch and equipped children’s play areas were also offered as part of the scheme, although this was criticised as being inadequate in terms of the amenity being lost to the homes.

Bloor had also pledged space for a two-form primary school to help ease the burden on surrounding schools, while the separate community hub could accommodate a church, meeting rooms, GP surgery and changing facilities for the sports pitch.

However, these were again deemed insufficient to compensate for the impact of the proposals.

The council’s education department said the development was likely to generate the need for 38 nursery aged pupils, 263 primary aged pupils and 188 secondary aged pupils, and the offer of a two-form primarily school would not meet demand.