Detailed plans for petrol station next to golf club approved despite stray ball concerns

Detailed plans for a new petrol station and convenience store next to a golf club have been given the go ahead despite fears about the danger posed by stray balls.

Outline permission for a large service station next to Wrexham Golf Club was granted by councillors last year after concerns over road safety were addressed.

However, representatives from the golf club, which sits off the Llanypwll link road, said the latest reserved matters application submitted by Euro Garages did not address the risk of customers being hit by miss-hit shots from the eleventh hole.

Golf club board member Pamela Valentine told a planning committee meeting she felt detailed proposals surrounding the layout and appearance of the development should be rejected.

Speaking at Wrexham’s Guildhall last week, she said: “The golf club remains concerned that there are two principles around safety that the conditions being put forward do not address.

“The risk to users of the application site needs to be properly monitored and evaluated. No such monitoring has been undertaken in respect of this site.

“There has been no inspection of the site from the golf club side. The planning officer has said the risk from golf balls has been considered, but how?”

Ahead of the meeting, council officers backed the latest set of plans for approval after they said safety issues were addressed at the previous stage.

They also outlined a condition requiring the use of safety netting if permission was given.

Matthew Grey, acting on behalf of Euro Garages, said the risk of stray balls had been considered and the company would work with the golf club to put netting in appropriate areas.

But some councillors echoed the concerns raised by Mrs Valentine despite the suggested condition.

They included Cllr Bryn Apsley, who said stray golf balls could lead to people being killed in some cases.

He said: “As a very poor golfer with a violent hook, I would be very wary of using that petrol station because of the threat of golf balls, because on a serious matter people have been killed by stray golf balls.

“The netting would have to be a considerable height to cover that eleventh hole.”

However, despite the issues raised, the majority of committee members voted in favour of the proposals with only two against.

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme).