Pete Cowen fears for his academy’s future

• Pete Cowen fears for academy’s future if waste tip reopens
• Says it would render his Rotherham site ‘worthless’
• Nearly 1,500 people have signed a petition against the tip

Leading golf coach Pete Cowen has said his state-of-the-art golf academy would be rendered ‘worthless’ if controversial plans to reopen a waste tip next to the site go through.

Cowen, who coached Danny Willett and Henrik Stenson to their maiden major titles in 2016, has invested £1.7m into the Peter Cowen Golf Academy in Rotherham – which boasts a 32-bay floodlit driving range, all-weather short game area and a fun mini golf putting course.

“The land would be worthless and the business would go down” – Pete Cowen

However, Grange Landfill Ltd has been granted an Environment Agency permit to take in up to 200,000 tonnes of waste per year at the site next door, which was last used as a tip 20 years ago.

“The land would be worthless and the business would go down, there’s no doubt about that,” Pete Cowen told the BBC. “There’d be no point in trying to save it if that happens.”

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Credit: petecowen.com.

Grange Landfill Ltd is owned by husband and wife Martin and Jean Angela Hague, who said waste tipped there would be mainly soil and rubble which does not produce landfill gas, attract vermin or flies.

It would be dumped on land next to a capped-off waste site, which contains waste from the coal and steel industries.

“The noise, the pollution, it’s going to have an impact” – Mick Marshall

Mick Marshall, who runs nearby Millmoor Juniors Football Club, said if the tip opens it could mean his club would have to close.

“The noise, the pollution, it’s going to have an impact,” he told the BBC. “We want our children to enjoy exercise and fresh air in a safe environment.”

So far, more than 1,500 people have signed a petition against the tip’s reopening.

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Pete Cowen :: Sign the petition

If you’d like to sign the petition against the reopening of the waste tip next to Pete Cowen’s Golf Academy, click here.