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Williamwood Golf Club’s plan to build residential property on an unused part of its land has been rejected by East Renfrewshire Council.
The Glasgow club’s proposal to build a five-storey building, comprising of 14 flats and with 30 car park spaces, attracted 40 letters of objection as compared with just 19 supporting letters.
In its decision, the council said that the proposed development “would be a dominant and incongruous feature on the streetscape, detracting from the open character of this section of Clarkston Road by virtue of its size and massing.”
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The councillors added that approving the plans would be “to the detriment of the character and visual amenity of the area and to the residential amenity of the adjacent dwelling.”
In a statement obtained by bunkered.co.uk, a Williamwood Golf Club spokesperson said: “We are obviously disappointed in the rejection of the planning persmission and we will be reviewing our options with [house builders] Mactaggart and Mickel.”
The club had proposed building the following:
We reported earlier this year how Williamwood was pursuing this in order to generate “much-needed revenue.”
A planning application submitted to East Renfrewshire Council in July stated: “The applicant has provided a statement that outlines the challenges facing the golf club in terms of declining membership and revenue.” It added that “without interventions, improvements and change this pattern will not be reversed and, if continued, the club may become unsustainable.”
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It was explained that the club planned to use revenue generated from the residential development to “make a series of improvements to the course and the wider golf club facilities to benefit existing members, attract new members and help ensure that the club is viable and sustainable over the longer term.”
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These improvements were believed to include investment in multi-use function areas, permanent indoor practice facilities, a gym and fitness studio and course accessibility improvements.
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Meanwhile, the club has conferred honorary membership upon George Burns, who won the Scottish Amateur Championship earlier this year.
The Burns family has a long association with Williamwood where his grandfather was a member. George was allowed to join early due to his golfing ability when he was nine-years-old, along with Fraser Davren, who is now the assistant pro at Caldwell Golf Club.
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By the age of 12, his handicap was down to single figures and, at 13, he was playing in men’s medals, and was the youngest player in the field of the Scottish Boys Championship.
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In 2009, he helped the club to win the Fleming Watson League – a junior league comprising nine local clubs – for the first time since 1987.
With a 19th hole victory over Kirkhill’s Lewis Irvine at Crail Golfing Society in August, he became the second golfer with Williamwood links to win the Scottish Amateur crown, following in the footsteps of Iain Carslaw in 1978.
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