Result of public meeting re- golf course
The meeting to discuss the golf course which is proposed to be built on the land bordering Norlands Lane/Pex Hill and behind Cronton Hall was held Friday 21 July at 7-30pm..
It was a well attended by a fair number of the residents of Cronton and the views expressed were many and varied.
We had met with the various parties involved at a meeting only attended by Parish Council members on the Tuesday before, in order to be able to present to the village a clear picture of how this proposal may affect our village should planning consent be obtained for this golf course.
The Chair of the Parish council, Mr. Will Cooke, placed before the public meeting the information the Parish council had gained during our discussions with the developers and Widnes golf club(who are intending to move onto the new golf course should planning consent be given).
A member of Knowsleys planning team attended and was able to clarify several thorny points.
We believe the meeting was a success in that most folk who attended are now in a better position to come to an informed decision on this matter.
Points you may wish to consider
1 The position of the gun club as there is no consideration given to meeting their need of a place to enjoy their sport within the confines of the golf course.
2 The golf club has no plans to recognise the fact that over ninety percent of the land they are wanting falls in the Cronton area in the name of the proposed course. which will continue to be called "Widnes Golf Club".
3 The recent unitary development plan protects the land in question, which is green belt, until at least 2011 and possibly beyond so this will possibly come into your consideration, however government policies can and do change so what is green belt today could still be built upon in the future.
4 Mr Caldwell, the present land owner, spoke at the meeting and was in favour of the golf club as he feels it would protect the land and encourage wild life upon it, but stated that should planning consent not be given he would probably still farm on the land but develop crops which would be used for fuel. These suggested crops would be extremely high and it was said they could reach a height of twenty foot. This would have to be verified.
It was a well attended by a fair number of the residents of Cronton and the views expressed were many and varied.
We had met with the various parties involved at a meeting only attended by Parish Council members on the Tuesday before, in order to be able to present to the village a clear picture of how this proposal may affect our village should planning consent be obtained for this golf course.
The Chair of the Parish council, Mr. Will Cooke, placed before the public meeting the information the Parish council had gained during our discussions with the developers and Widnes golf club(who are intending to move onto the new golf course should planning consent be given).
A member of Knowsleys planning team attended and was able to clarify several thorny points.
We believe the meeting was a success in that most folk who attended are now in a better position to come to an informed decision on this matter.
Points you may wish to consider
1 The position of the gun club as there is no consideration given to meeting their need of a place to enjoy their sport within the confines of the golf course.
2 The golf club has no plans to recognise the fact that over ninety percent of the land they are wanting falls in the Cronton area in the name of the proposed course. which will continue to be called "Widnes Golf Club".
3 The recent unitary development plan protects the land in question, which is green belt, until at least 2011 and possibly beyond so this will possibly come into your consideration, however government policies can and do change so what is green belt today could still be built upon in the future.
4 Mr Caldwell, the present land owner, spoke at the meeting and was in favour of the golf club as he feels it would protect the land and encourage wild life upon it, but stated that should planning consent not be given he would probably still farm on the land but develop crops which would be used for fuel. These suggested crops would be extremely high and it was said they could reach a height of twenty foot. This would have to be verified.
5 The public footpaths are not in danger even if a golf course was given planning permission but we may have to consider re-routing some of them.
We do have the manager of the public footpaths coming to our usual Parish council meeting on Monday 31st July 2006 at 7:00 pm and he will answer any questions you may like to put to him.
6 Vehicular access is from Norlands Lane only at all times. We are told the traffic driving through Cronton village would not be increased with a golf course in proximity.
7 Any buildings would be on the Halton part of the golf course and the Parish council have insisted that our green belt is not enroached upon by buildings of any sort.
8 Widnes golf club have said that if anyones present view is blocked by an aspect of the course outside their home, then they would be willing to discuss this with the householder in question. Knowsley council have told the Parish council that nobody has a right to a view however.
9 There are conflicting views regarding the wildlife which are on the land at the moment. Enquiries at some golf course have indicated that wildlife has increased with a golf club but others have said a golf course is not good for wildlife. At present we have encouraged certain species and birds back onto the land in question and there`s no guarantee they will stay should this course be built. In the short term we may lose some but long term we could see an increase in our wildlife.
10 In the event land may need to be filled in, then it will come from another part of the course and little will need to come from outside. Any land fill would be closely monitored by Knowsley council.
11 The estimated time to have this proposed course in use is about three years. Possibly ready for play in early 2009.
12 If this planning application is rejected by Knowsley Borough Council then the land is still green belt land and cannot be built upon at least until 2011 and possibly some years beyond.
It would hopefully be farmed but nobody has a crystal ball in these matters and so the decision will be based upon the needs of Knowsl;ey Borough Council for land.
Land owners can contest Knowsleys green belt policy.
posted by Ron at 1:31 am
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