The risk of “wayward golf balls” has been given as a reason for recommending that plans for a new pitch for a Devon town’s community football club be refused.
Planners at East Devon District Council have cited a paragraph from a national framework that seems to put the onus on new development to ensure it can properly integrate with existing businesses or facilities.
While the council acknowledges the prospective new pitch would meet a “longstanding and ongoing need”, it argues the application would result in a “change to the character of the site”.
It said a recommendation of approval could be supported if it were “not for the safety risk issue” – referring to potential stray golf balls from the neighbouring club – and with better knowledge about how the possible impacts of measures it might need to take to reduce this and other issues, such as the loss of some native hedgerow.
Jon Leisk, who chairs the charity that oversees Honiton Town Youth Football Club, said he was hoping to pack the public gallery out on Tuesday (7 June) with supporters in an effort to encourage the committee to vote in favour of the plans.
That might even include a horde of school children who are members of the club.
Mr Leisk claimed the council had “reversed their previous position” from an earlier iteration of the plans and felt there may have been “pressure put on them” by some in the community.
“As you can imagine, our specialist legal advice thinks using the issue of wayward golf balls as a reason to recommend refusal is absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
“I think they might have had some pressure on them by influential people and that might have clouded their judgement – that makes Tuesday key for us so we can tell the committee how important this is from a community perspective.”
He added that if this issue was a risk, then it made far more sense for the issue to be “dealt with at source” rather than asking third parties to try and mitigate a random risk.
Honiton Town Youth Football Club has been eyeing sites for a new base for years, and after huge efforts it’s tantalisingly close to realising its hopes.
A proposal for football pitches, a clubhouse, access and parking for land west of Tower Road and East of Cuckoo Down Lane in Honiton was previously recommended for approval ahead of a potential decision in January, but the application was not considered at that meeting.
Mr Leisk,said the site the club currently uses – St Rita’s Fields on Ottery Moor Lane – was a “temporary measure 30 years ago”.
“It’s just a field and there’s no parking or toilets,” he said.
“The club has expanded, and we obviously want to grow further, but the current grounds aren’t suitable for that.
“It’s 400 metres to the nearest point of access, so if we need an ambulance we have to carry a casualty that distance or get an air ambulance, which is totally unsuitable.”
East Devon’s planning committee will discuss the application on Tuesday 7 July.
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