Statement from Stondon Parish Council re Golf Club
Stondon Parish Council (SPC) are aware that the owners of Mount Pleasant Golf Club have entered into an agreement to sell a large proportion of the golf club land to Bloor Homes. The owners understand that it is Bloor’s intention to redevelop the land for residential use.
Mount Pleasant Golf Club is a commercial organisation and is completely separate from SPC, which has no control over how they manage the club and its assets.
Currently, SPC has no detail on what Bloor Homes are proposing.
Central Bedfordshire Council is the planning authority which makes decisions on Planning Applications, not SPC, although in all Planning Appreciations SPC is a consultee.
Planning Applications
More detail on planning is available here https://stondon-pc.gov.uk/planning-applications/ and information on plans submitted to CBC are available to the public.
We are consultees and do not make the final decision.
Developments in Stondon
Any potential developer is encouraged to contact SPC and meet with us to discuss their proposals, prior to submitting them to the Planning Authority.
This can assist the developer in providing a more community lead development.
SPC has a policy on such meetings available on its website.
The process above, allows the Council to understand what the developer is proposing and what they can do to improve the life in the community and mitigate some of the impact of the development should a site be granted approval by CBC.
Please note the following points:-
- This area of land is not in the CBC Local Plan and any such development is likely to be strongly resisted by both SPC and CBC.
- CBC Local Plan Stondon allocated us an additional 277 dwellings. Since 2018 approved planning applications will provide 591 dwellings.
- The five-year land supply is still very healthy for CBC.
- Any developer would also face a significant number of technical challenges in any development process for this site.
- The land is currently designated for leisure use as a golf course.
- No plans have been submitted for discussion to CBC, as the planning authority
- SPC has not been involved at any stage in the sale of the land by the owners of the golf club.
When we have more detail, this information will be made available at the relevant Parish Council meeting and, if relevant, through the CBC planning portal.
We would welcome the community to support SPC in the planning application process and we include our responses to planning applications as part of the minutes.
Dated: 27 April 2022