A controversial plan to build hundreds of new homes on a Stockport golf course was refused by councillors last night.

Stockport council's planning committee voted to reject the application from Hollins Strategic Land by seven votes to five after more than an hour of debate, despite the plan being recommended for approval by planning officers.

It would have seen 278 houses built on the land, half of which would be designated as "affordable", and included contributions to local sports facilities and green spaces.

The design submitted to the council included creating an urban park, tennis courts, and allotments as part of the development alongside new homes.

Before the crucial vote last night, residents in the area campaigned to stop the building work going ahead, with a petition to "save" the club being signed by more than 1,000 people.

The applicant questioned whether the golf club would be financially viable in the future after full membership of the club was closed in 2018, but campaigners say there are more than a thousand people who would be interested in joining Gatley Golf Club if they were allowed.

Gatley Golf Club campaigners at a council meeting on February 8, 2024 (Image - LDRS)

Sharon Lindsay, an organiser of the Gatley Golf Course Action Group, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she was "delighted" with the decision.

She said: "It was entirely the correct decision, to allow it to go ahead would have set a precedent that every sports facility in Stockport could fall foul of the same attempt to run it down and sacrifice the strategic open space on it.

"1,200 people have said they would be interested in joining the golf club as social or full members, to make sure that this really beautiful open space which is loved and enjoyed by everyone locally [remains].

"That we can now come together and protect this for the future, and everyone can come together to enjoy it as the community facility which it is."

Lib Dem Councillor Ian Powney said the club members' decision to sell the land for development was driven by profit: "It's not for sporting benefit but because it's going to line their pockets, and they stopped other people joining because that would dilute how much money they would get out of it."

(Image - LDRS)

Cllr Anna Charles-Jones, leader of the Independent Ratepayers in the Heald Green ward, voted against the application and said: "The points that I keep coming back to are the loss of the green lung, and that phrase once it's gone it's gone forever."

Labour and Co-operative Party Cllr Rachel Wise said: "As a councillor I speak to people who are struggling to find somewhere to live. I have to give very significant weight to the suggestion that we build 140 affordable homes in part of the borough where average sales values are £366,000, that's an extraordinary amount of money for somebody who has a young family, for someone who hasn't had secure housing and secure work."

Lib Dem councillor Tom Morrison said, "This is a great result and the residents who led this campaign deserve all the credit.

"It was clear these plans were not viable and would never work. The proposals would have meant far too many cars on the small roads around the area, plus too much strain on nearby services such as doctors and schools.

"I'm delighted that such a hard fought campaign has been won. Truly well done to everyone involved."

These plans show what the new development would have looked like (Images - Hollins Strategic Land)

The council's planning officer said he was satisfied with the access roads to the site, despite it being raised as a potential problem by residents who live in the area.

The application was previously discussed by councillors in December but the decision was delayed after the chair, Cllr Steve Gribbon, asked for more information about the viability of the golf course.

The rejection will come as a blow to Stockport's plan to create new affordable homes in the borough, where there is a huge demand for housing.

Much of the council's focused for new homes is currently based on brownfield sites around the town centre, rather than green spaces across the borough.

While a decision on Gatley Golf Club's future was reached last night, the application could still face an appeal.

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