A new 18-hole adventure golf course could be coming to the Lake District.
Choices Health Club has resubmitted a planning application to the Lake District National Park Authority for an 18-hole adventure golf course at Troutbeck Bridge Swimming Pool in Windermere.
Plans were refused in July by the LDNPA after ruling the proposals would lead to the deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, among other reasons.
It is proposed the golf course will be open from 9.15 am to one hour after sunset from October to March.
From April to September, the golf course will close at 9pm or one hour after sunset, whichever is earliest.
The proposed site is south east of the health club while the site of the former application was north west of the club and is no longer next to ancient woodland.
The planning statement said: “It is proposed to offer this leisure facility to diversify the existing leisure offering to existing users as well as to provide a diversified attraction to tourists, who already visit the health club.”
According to planning documents the adventure golf course would feature nine wheelchair accessible holes.
The planning statement added the proposals would deliver significant biodiversity enhancements to the site.
An ecological appraisal accompanying this application concludes that, given the nature and scale of the proposed development, it is considered that there is ‘no potential’ for a foreseeable impact on the ancient woodland.
However, the plans have received objections from The Lakes School and Westmorland and Furness Council as the local education authority.
An objection submitted on behalf of the council and the Lakes School says: “Our clients object to the proposals on the basis that they involve the creation of a new tourism attraction in an inappropriate location which would introduce levels of activity which would lead to unacceptable impacts on the safe operation of the school, and the safeguarding and amenity of pupils.”
According to planning documents the health club is currently mostly used in the evening hours so additional vehicles using the site will ‘not be noticeable’ to local residents.
The planning statement added: “It is accepted that the users of the adventure golf course will be outside of the building, rather than inside. Therefore, there will be some noise generated by users of the golf course.
“However, the nearest distance between residential properties and the adventure golf course will be 55m to 60m. It is not unreasonable to assume that there will be no significant noise nuisance experienced at these distances, and certainly none that could indicate a refusal of planning permission in this instance.”
The application is under consideration.
