For some time now concerns have been growing from residents of Great Denham and the membership from far and wide regarding the golf clubs continued existence.
Please find a joint statement from Ward Councillor and Parish Council Chair.
Update:
In a phone call on Thursday evening 2nd July 2020 between Jim Weir (Ward Councillor Kempston Rural) and Jack Hawkesworth (Bidwells – agent for the landowners of the Golf Course) the following news was shared.
• The course will close when the present lease holder’s tenure expires on 16th October 2020.
• The Greenkeepers compound on Greenkeepers Road will be let out for business use.
• The club house will be let out as additional space – perhaps for a school or some such facility.
• The land will be given over to livestock grazing or and hay production.
• The land will not immediately be put forward for residential development but has that potential in years to come. (number of years unspecified)
• This is how things stand now, the golf course will not continue as a golf course.
What can residents and members do?
Firstly, your elected Ward Councillor and Chair of the Parish Council, both residents of Great Denham are going to represent you at every level it can reach. The Parish Council will lead the response with your Ward Councillor to this appalling move made by the landowners. It will mean very precise and decisive actions need to be put in place. The outline of these can be discussed at Monday’s Parish Council meeting. In the meantime, communication and identification of resources is underway.
• Inform and engage with our local MP Richard Fuller – done.
• Inform our elected Mayor – done. (meeting with Mayor and Parish Chair to be arranged for this weekend to discuss options available)
• Inform Sport England – ongoing
• Set up online petition – ready to go
• Identify major stakeholders in the community who can take the community response forward:
o Parish Council Chair and fellow Parish Councillors
o Ward Councillor
o Head Teacher Great Denham Primary School
o Leaders of Member Groups from the golf club
o Social media site administrators
o Other Ward and Parish Councillors in the Ward
o Biddenham and Bromham Ward Councillors
o Sport England
o All residents
Background of the golf club:
The club was opened in 1999 as part of a Section 106 agreement between the landowners and Bedford Borough as a requirement to build the first phase of a housing development. That development is now the vibrant and diverse community of Great Denham.
The golf course provides a large urban green space that both residents of Great Denham and Biddenham can enjoy. The land acts as a buffer between the two communities and avoids what would otherwise be an urban sprawl. Part of the requirement of the s106 agreement was that the golf club had to be inclusive and anyone could pay and play 7 days per week.
The club house has been a welcoming meeting place for residents to drink and dine as families from the first day it opened in April 1999. It has been in constant use as a venue to celebrate special occasions, a place to meet members and good friends and a venue to host community led events – such as the Fireworks for Great Denham residents.
There are over 30,000 rounds of golf played at the club each year and it is home to the largest senior’s section of any club in Bedfordshire with over 100 members playing each week. The course is flat and drains well so is available all year round and lends itself to those with limited mobility.
Many local resident’s children attend the clubs group coaching sessions and have access at a subsidised rate, which enables the promotion of the game within the local community.
In essence it is at the heart of the community.
Land & Development situation:
As most residents will be aware the Biddenham Loop was originally agricultural land of which a large section sits on the floodplain. The land has been developed and when completed will comprise of over 1750 homes and nearly 4,000 residents. Most of the land that sits in the floodplain has been given over as a Country Park, on which sits sports pitches and a large play area for children.
The landowner then, has turned poor agricultural land into a large semi-rural development so has had an exceptionally good return from the sale of the land.
The golf course land is a protected “Urban Green Space” and is also designated as an “Urban Gap” to provide a buffer between the two communities of Great Denham and Biddenham. There are a number of policies that are in the Bedford Borough Local Plan (2030) and the saved policies from Allocations & Designated Local Plan Policies (2013).
Planning Policy 99 (LP 2030) resists the loss of sports and community facilities, the policy requires the applicant to demonstrate it is surplus/relocated. It is also worth noting that, given the recent number of golf courses lost in Bedfordshire to residential use it is possible that Sports England would object.
The site is identified on the Proposals Map accompanying the Local Plan as ‘urban open space.’ The policies relating to this are included in the Bedford Local Plan (2013). The site also falls outside of the ‘urban area boundary’ which is a restrictive policy. It is likely, the policies have a presumption against development in ‘urban open spaces’ and the ‘urban area boundary’.
It is unlikely (but not certain) that development will take place immediately as the “Urban Green Space” restriction will preclude that. The fact that this land will be turned over to grazing/hay production will downgrade the land and make it more likely that it will eventually get planning permission. The first priority then, must be to ensure the golf club does not close, once closed and left to return to grazing land it will be lost for good.