Council set to refuse plans for holiday chalets at Waldringfield golf course
Waldringfield Golf Club Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN - Credit: Archant
Plans to build 58 holiday chalets at Waldringfield Golf Club have been recommended for refusal amid objections from the surrounding parish councils and environmental organisations.
The application proposes the redevelopment of the golf course practice area into accommodation for holidaymakers and the construction of a new swimming pool building.
The application includes plans for one and two-bedroom single storey chalets, accessible from the existing golf course entrance in Newbourne Road.
A planning committee at East Suffolk Council is set to make a decision on the future of the development at a meeting on Tuesday, September 24.
The scheme has been backed by Sports England, which sees the project as part of a wider attempt to make the club more attractive to people living in the area.
It also says the development of the 12.5m by 6m swimming pool would also enable more people from the surrounding area to take part in sport and physical activity.
However, both Waldringfield and Martlesham parish councils have objected to the plans.
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Waldringfield Parish Council argues the application does not comply with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), saying that proposed chalets are of a poor design and are within exposed parts of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Martlesham Parish Council added the development cannot be looked at without the wider context of the approved allocation of 2,000 homes at Adastral Park.
It argues the golf course development would put a strain on the area's highways network and would reduce the open spaces between Adastral Park, Waldringfield and neighbouring villages which are very popular among ramblers and dog walkers.
It also argued that there is no need for a development of this type in the area.
Its objection reads: "There may be some economic benefit to be gained, but the development would not fulfil a social role reflecting the community's needs, or an environmental role - it would be to the detriment of the natural environment."
An application was submitted last year to use a section of the golf club's land for up to 16 homes, 24 holiday chalets and more than 30 'age restricted-homes', but the plans were later withdrawn.
