Formby Hall lodges gain consent on third try
The development of 11 woodland lodges at Formby Hall Golf Resort has been approved by Sefton’s planning committee, after being deferred twice due to debate over its impact on the Green Belt.
The timber lodges will each be two-bedroom, each featuring a decking area and a kitchenette with heating and hot water provided by a proposed biomass plant, to be brought forward under a separate planning application. The lodges would be serviced from the main Formby Hall hotel, to the north of the hotel and golf course.
Advised by Turley, the resort’s plans last went before Sefton Council’s planning committee in June, but were deferred until August in order to get more information from the applicant regarding the loss of trees in order to make way for the development.
The project has proved contentious as it would see the loss of Green Belt, although the resort and the council’s planning department have argued that the impact would be outweighed by the increase in tourism. The proposal was originally for 18 lodges but has been reduced twice, to 15 and then 11.
In a report to the council committee, planning officers said: “While the development comprises ‘inappropriate development in the Green Belt’, it will bring a number of significant benefits. In particular, the unique nature of the accommodation and its setting will make a distinctive contribution to tourism and to the economy of the borough.”
Formby Hall Golf Resort opened in 1998 and has gone through several expansion projects since. It currently extends to more than 200 acres and already features two golf courses of 18 and nine holes; a 27-bay driving range; a golf shop; health spa; and a 76-bed hotel.
Last year, the resort secured planning permission for further work; this includes a two-storey wing to be built on the existing overspill car park, featuring 43 en-suite rooms with balconies or patios, while the first floor of the existing health club and spa building will be converted to provide 20 rooms. A quadrant-shaped golf clubhouse and function room is also proposed, featuring an event space for more than 300 guests.
This is an assault on not just the green belt but vintage woodland. There is no benefit to the community or the borough, 11 lodges is purely for commercial gain. The decision to allow was opposed by several committee members, but obviously there were enough that had been whipped by the ruling party to pass it through. Sefton planning should be in placed into special measures asap for unmentionable practices.
By Formby Resident