Tydd St Giles golf and leisure firm's plans are more bogey than hole in one as objections flood in

A parish council has added its voice to those objecting to plans for a Fenland golf and country club to expand with the creation of 51 more leisure holiday homes.

Around 50 people have already raised objections to proposals by Tydd St Giles Golf and Leisure Centre in Kirkgate, Tydd St Giles to not only site the extra holiday homes but also build a bird hide as well as a formation of a new lake and an extension of the existing lake on the site, which already has around 130 park homes.

Now Tydd St Giles Parish Council has said it cannot support the application, which was submitted to the Fenland District Council for consideration at the end of last month.

A letter to the planning authority written on behalf of the parish council by its clerk Dave Gibbs said: "The parish council’s planning committee met to consider this application. Sixty-eight members of the public attended the meeting.

"This application has attracted significant attention from a group of local residents who raised a diverse range of concerns.

"Having listened to the views of those present, most of whom objected to the proposed development, members of the Council considered the key planning issues. They noted the significant contribution of the golf and leisure complex to the village, as a tourist destination, a leisure provider, an employer and a supporter of local businesses.

"On balance, members decided that the proposal represents an over-development of the site, with an unnecessary loss of trees and other wildlife habitat, particularly at the north western corner adjoining Eaudyke Bank, where a section of the nature walk would be removed to accommodate additional lodges. For this reason, the parish council is unable to support the application."

In documents submitted alongside their application and drawn up by Plandescil Consulting Engineers Pure Leisure have said the development would be 'phase four' of their plans for the site, and will create up to 12 new jobs in addition to the 31 who already work there.

The site site has been owned by Pure Leisure Group since 2008 - the firm operates 19 holiday lodge and caravan parks in the North West, Wales, Yorkshire and East Anglia.

In their design and access statement Plandescil said Pure Leisure are looking to extend their site, 'due to the high demand for holiday lodges arising from the staycation effect in 2020/21".

Golf, it says, has also become popular and the expansion will allow the existing 18 hole golf course to be remodelled to provide a "better experience".

It adds that the phase 4 site area will be 4.59 hectares and the lodges will be "luxury holiday homes" that vary in design with a mixture of two and three bedrooms Each will have a private external verandah/patio area and parking, as well as a kitchen, lounge area and bathroom.

But villagers are not convinced and have written dozens of letters of objection citing a raft of reasons why planning permission should be refused including the inability of local roads to cope with additional traffic.

Others suggest the application fails to meet "at least eight of the national planning policy framework" and that the existing facilities, which include a swimming pool and a gym are not big enough to cater for the "existing site homes and the visiting members from the local area, let alone another 51 homes, with the swimming pool having to be booked in advance and limited to six people at a time".

Another objector said: "A development of this size will inevitably impact upon the local infrastructure including roads, water, electricity and sewage. There already appear to be sewage problems on the site according to a number of owners of lodges."

Objections also include over-development of the site, flooding and wildlife concerns, loss of privacy and health and safety fears.