Plans to redevelop golf club teed up for approval

Plans to convert a former golf driving range into a garden centre have been teed up for approval by Leeds City Council.

The owners of Tong Garden Centre in Bradford want to develop a second site and convert the former Acanthus Golf Centre in Leeds.

The plans are for a 66,000 sq ft garden centre, with 36,000 sq ft of outdoor retail space, which could create more than 200 jobs.

It will use the existing golf centre building as the hub for an adventure play area set in five acres for children aged 8 to 14.

Councillors will meet next week and have been recommended to delegate approval to Leeds City Council’s chief planning officer David Feeney.

Approval would be subject to a s106 agreement – a payment that ensure the scheme has a neutral biodiversity impact – and consultation with Government about the development in the Green Belt.

Charlie Barker, Sharon McNair and Mark Farnsworth from Tong Garden Centre

Speaking previously, Tong Garden Centre’s managing director Mark Farnsworth said: “We have made no secret of our ambitions to be a multi-site operation. We have been working on the Tingley opportunity for over two years, so we feel confident that we can deliver a fabulous experience for our visitors.

“We have learnt many valuable lessons in the five years that we have been growing Tong and we think that Tingley Garden Centre and Adventure Playground will be a great addition to the community in South Leeds.”

Permission has previously been given twice before for a garden centre at the site, in 1988 and 2016.

Although the site sits within the Green Belt, planners have told councillors “significant social, economic and environmental improvements have been considered, and these are considered sufficient to provide very special circumstances that outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and any other harm.”