A developer planning to build new homes on a golf course in Stockport has said it is “listening to the community” about concerns over losing green space.

Hollins Strategic Land (HSL) has applied for permission to build 278 homes on Gatley Golf Club, a patch of privately owned land which has been used for golf since 1912.

The future of the club is due to be decided on Thursday (February 8) at Stockport council’s planning committee, and councillors have been recommended to approve the scheme.

A report states that the development would “secure future public access” to more than 10 hectares of open space for the community.

The developer has also promised to fund the creation and upkeep of open spaces in areas away from the site, with improved sports facilities and promoting golf participation around Stockport.

A CGI of how the new development would look (Image - Hollins Strategic Land)

More than 1,000 residents have signed a petition against the plans to stop the historic golf club from “being lost forever.”

Paul O’Shea, a director at Hollins Strategic Land, said: “The ambition from the very beginning was to create a community-led development that delivers a vibrant, walkable neighbourhood for its future residents.

“The feedback we have received from local people has been listened to and informed a number of improvements to the application, which we are delighted has been recommended for approval.

“These proposals will address the local housing need whilst delivering a wide variety of community benefits and we are excited to move into the next chapter of the story.”

A plan for the new development (Image - Hollins Strategic Land)

The application was discussed at the previous planning committee in December where the chair, Lib Dem councillor Steve Gribbon, decided to delay the decision after calling for more information about the viability of the golf club.

It came after opponents to the scheme challenged claims that the golf club is not financially sustainable.

Some residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they tried to become members of the club but were not allowed to join.

Others shared concerns over the extra traffic in the area which could come as part of the development.

Half of the proposed new homes would be designated as “affordable” if approved, which a report has noted would be an “important contribution to the council’s housing and affordable housing needs in a period of significant under-supply.”

Gatley Golf Club (Image - Google Maps)

Other plans for the land alongside housing include new allotments and tennis courts, an “open to all” community hub in the clubhouse buildings, and support for the activities of the Heald Green Theatre Company.

HSL said the scheme has “progressed significantly” since the initial public consultation and that it hopes to “move the plans forward” and begin redeveloping the space.

While demand for housing is surging in Stockport, the council has prioritised building new homes on brownfield land in the town centre rather than looking at green spaces.

However, the local authority’s refusal of a planning application to build new homes on Mirrlees Fields in Hazel Grove was recently overturned by the Planning Inspectorate to allow up to 200 new properties on the site.

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