Consultation opens on 700-home golf course plan

Proposals for about 700 homes on a former golf course have raised residents‘ concerns about traffic and pressure on local services.

Wain Estates is consulting on the future of the 100-acre former Swinton Park Golf Club site in Swinton, Greater Manchester, which closed in September 2020.

The developer said more than half the site could become public open space, with affordable homes, sports facilities and housing for older people also proposed.

But Mike Hartney, 65, who has lived in the area for 34 years, said traffic was already "awful" and local services were oversubscribed.

"Everywhere is oversubscribed already," he said. "It'll only get worse."

Wain Estates said it intended to seek outline planning permission later in 2026 and the number of homes could change following technical work, public feedback and discussions with council planners.

Dave Marsh, who was a member of the golf club for more than 30 years, said the course should be restored.

Mr Marsh, who campaigns with Save Swinton Park Golf Club, said the grounds had remained closed throughout the coronavirus pandemic, despite appeals from the community.

"It never should have closed as a golf club," he said. "We will fight it until our last breath to stop them."

However, not all residents opposed developing the land.

Sam Hope, 41, said new homes could help first-time buyers and families unable to afford some existing properties in Swinton and nearby Monton.

"If they do what they've done here in terms of green space, make a bigger park, maybe even add a coffee shop, then we could use it," she said.

But she added that another 700 homes could worsen congestion and said the area did not have the "right infrastructure".

The proposals include a main entrance from the East Lancashire Road through a traffic-controlled junction and an emergency access route from Cliftonville Drive.

Wain Estates acquired the company which owned the golf club in April 2021. The site is privately owned, has no public rights of way and has remained unused since the club closed.

Neil Lewis, the company's planning director, said the firm wanted to hear residents' views.

"Our proposals look to bring historically private land back into use, creating a new place with a range of benefits for the wider community," he said.

"This would include new sports facilities, walking and cycling routes, alongside a range of new homes of different sizes and tenures."

He said the company envisaged a "green and welcoming development", with more than half the site remaining as publicly accessible open space.

An outline application would seek permission for the principle of developing the land, rather than approval of the detailed design of individual homes.

The consultation is due to close on 20 September.

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