Golf Club gets the thumbs up for storage plans

A planning proposal to build a storage hut at Rochdale Golf Club has been passed.

The Golf Club on Edenfield Road has been given permission to erect a storage hut, that can fit up to twenty Buggies, on a grassed section of land at the northern end of the Golf Club, as well as a new car park that would accommodate six cars.

It is hoped the new storage facilities will help those who found it difficult to walk far with a heavy bag, or with restricted mobility.

The club feels its users would benefit from the storage facility for Buggies and Caddy Cars, which are becoming essential accessories for a number of golfers. The vehicles would be used only by people that have been diagnosed with mobility difficulties, and without this facility to store such equipment a number of these members would be unable to play golf.

The proposal states that the storage building would be to the north of the Golf Club, and would measure 12.7metres in length and 7.5 metres wide, which is below the height of an average two story house. It would be constructed in profiled steel cladding and would have a simple pitched roof that is 3.8m to the highest point. A one metre wide footpath would be around the proposed building to allow pedestrian access for maintenance.

However, residents of Somerset Grove, the buildings opposite the application site, have written letters of objection, and the council have received a further objection from the neighbouring land owner’s to the north of the Club.

Many occupants of Somerset Grove are outraged that there will be such an eye sore viewable from their houses, but are assured that the storage hut would be considerably lower than the average house, and the hut would be at least 25 metres away from the nearest house.

Others are concerned that the sheet metal will prove unacceptable, as it will clash with the traditional houses built near the course. A response was provided saying that profiled steel cladding would be appropriate, as it is a practical and common material for such buildings, and has been used on the existing storage building within the site.

Many residents are still not convinced, some think that the machinery and vehicles being used would make existing noise and traffic problems worsen, and some think that anti-social behaviour will occur.

Again, the council assured the objectors that the erection of the building would, if anything, make the site more secure, and that anti-social behaviour is not a reason to refuse a planning application, and that furthermore, the noise etc would be expected at a Golf Course, and this problem was in existence before the adjacent houses were built.

Another protest came from the adjacent land owner to the North of the golf club who has commented that the proposed hut would be very ugly and detrimental to any future residents on the opposite site, and suggested that the shed should be moved to an alternative location within the site, or be reduced in size and be built out of a different material, such as stone.