Decision due on scheme at historic golf club and hotel

A decision is due to be made on a major holiday rental development proposed for the site of a historic West Midlands golf club and hotel.Harlaston (Packington) Ltd is seeking planning permission for the creation of 59 self catering holiday lodge buildings and three staff static caravans at Patshull Park Hotel Golf and Country Club.The applicant acquired the site in September 2020 after the previous owners went into administration, making all staff redundant.Patshull Park Hotel Golf and Country Club is a grade II*-listed building which dates to 1754. It has been the subject of various extensions and internal alterations through its lifetime. The hotel sits within the grade II-listed Registered Park and Garden and forms part of the green belt.The site includes the grade II*-listed Temple, which comprises a disparate range of interlocking structures.The existing hotel building would be demolished while the listed Temple structure is to be retained.”The proposals provide the opportunity to deliver a new leisure and hospitality offer at the site which meets current and evolving market demand,” a planning statement said. “In tandem, it offers the chance to unlock heritage, landscape, biodiversity and community enhancements, alongside economic benefits which would not otherwise be deliverable.”A development of similar nature went before South Staffordshire Council’s planning committee on 25 April 2023. At this committee officers were recommended to refuse the scheme.Members at the planning committee “were minded to overturn the officer recommendation to refuse and progress with approval”. This was subject to a legal agreement to secure definitive rights of way across the site from the village of Pattingham.The project will now be considered at a meeting on 27 February.A report for the committee said: “Given the number of new factors that have arisen through the further information provided since the last planning committee, the decision was made by officers to debate the full merits of the proposals at a further planning committee prior to a decision being issued.”No decision was issued following the planning committee in April 2023 and as such this proposal needs to be considered on its own merits.”It added that the proposal would “create a significant level of visual and spatial harm to the openness of the green belt and also cause direct conflict with the purpose of safeguarding the countryside from encroachment”.Refusal has again been recommended.