Site visit before decision on holiday lodges at Rothbury Golf Club

The scheme for 11 lodges, near Whitton, was recommended for approval at Tuesday’s meeting of the county council’s planning committee, but members voted to go on a site visit first.

The application, which was resubmitted in December after an initial bid for 21 lodges was withdrawn, has sparked more than 80 objections, but members were also told at the meeting that 46 letters of support had been submitted just prior to the meeting.

Objector Alan Winlow said that the development ‘threatens harm to the local area’, while Colin Barnes, from the Northumberland Estates, said that ‘it’s essential to sustain the golf club’.

Coun Anne Dale moved going on a site visit to get a better idea of the impact of the proposals on the surrounding area and nearby heritage assets.

Referring to the late submissions by objectors and supporters, Coun Andrew Tebbutt said: “There’s a lot of uncertainty around this so I’m inclined to second that so we can defer it.”

The deferral and site visit was approved by four votes to two with one abstention.

What happened last time round?

November 2015: Northumberland Estates lodged a bid for 21 holiday lodges on land south of Rothbury Golf Club, which is in the parish of Whitton and Tosson, sparking a public meeting and an effort to oppose the plans.

March 2016: We reported that parishioners fighting against the scheme were claiming victory after it was withdrawn. However, the developer pointed out that the bid was aimed at supporting the struggling golf club and the objections had ‘compounded the problem’.