Bellway fleshes out Gatley Golf Club pitch

Having secured the 44-acre disused course in March, the housebuilder has wasted no time in seeking a reserved matters consent for 244 homes, 50% of them affordable.

The establishment of Gatley Golf Club as a housing site has been one of several planning wrangles across the borough of Stockport in recent years, where a lack of supply has seen the council struggle to defend opposition to projects.

Promoter Hollins Strategic Land put in for 278 homes at the site in 2024 and was refused, but subsequently won at appeal, a planning inspector citing the supply issue as the main reason for overturning the local verdict.

Bellway then bought the site, which is bisected by the railway line out to Manchester Airport, in March. Now, detailed plans have been lodged by planning adviser Lichfields and APD.

Not included in this application are the Heald Green Community Theatre, which will be retained, and the nine-hole course’s former clubhouse, the redevelopment of which for community purposes is included in the outline consent.

As set out in the submitted design & access statement, Bellway proposes detached, semi-detached, mews-style houses and apartments. Sizes will range from one to four bedrooms, with buildings of up to three storeys.

The bulk of the housing will be on the eastern side of the railway, to the south of the Lum Head primary school. The smaller parcel, on the western side of the railway, will see a higher proportion of four-bedroom homes, while each side will have a three-storey block at the southern tip.

Documents relating to the application can be viewed on Stockport Council’s planning portal, reference DC/098702.