Brandhall Golf Course closure ‘would be a disaster’ say neighbours
People living by closure-threatened Brandhall Golf Club spoke out over Sandwell Council's plans to turn it into a house estate with a school and parkland.
Neighbours voiced concerns over possible flooding, loss of wildlife habitat and the impact of housing and traffic on nearby roads and homes.
The issues were raised at a meeting arranged by the golf club on Sunday, to discuss options for the land which is owned by the local authority.
Marina Bachelor, who lives on Heron Road, said her main concern was the effect of housing on water running off the site.
She said: “We love living next to the golf course and my main concern is the flooding issue.
“In May last year we had horrendous problems around here.
“If you put more concrete on this land, for us it is going to be a disaster.
"I don’t think people around here realise how bad it is going to get.”
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Sandwell Council's cabinet has approved a recommendation to close the 116-year-old course.
It launched a public consultation on three options for its future use which outlined plans which all included a housing estate with a school and parkland.
Objectors have complained the council has not offered a fourth choice of keeping the course open.
Residents said the course and its golf club is an assert to the local people, offering open space to walk on and social and community activities for non-golfers
Graham Walker, a resident of Fairway Road, said the plans would be a disaster for local people.
He said: “This is Sandwell, not Sand-Unwell and we live in one of the most deprived areas of the country but it’s our home and it’s our house.
“I don’t play golf, I can’t stand the game but I am allowed to walk on the course and my kids can play here.
“We have foxes, peregrines and buzzards here and we stand to lose all of that.”
In November, the council launched a six-week consultation on the future use of the land after voting to close the course.
It has said the club has 318 members, below the expected number for an 18-hole golf course, of which nearly two-thirds live outside the borough.
It added research showed attendances at the course have fallen by a quarter in five years and it will cost £257,000 a year to keep open.
Officials suggested the plans would provide a new home for the existing Causeway Green Primary School which is currently in poor condition, parkland and much needed housing.
In addition, the council has said the option of using 8.5 hectares as green space would see a park the size of 14 football pitches, the same size as Brunswick Park in Wednsebury, and would retain approximately a quarter of the site as formal open space.
A public meeting for residents and club members to discuss the plans with council officers will be held at the clubhouse on Heron Road at 7pm on Thursday.
