'Our golf club house feels more like a social club': Campaigners hit out in Roundhay Golf Club planning row
Campaigners have hit out at Leeds City Council over alterations made to a club house at a north Leeds golf course.
The group, Roundhay Golf Club Restoration Group, has accused the council of operating a “two-tier system” after it granted retrospective planning permission for alterations to the local authority-owned golf club building.
According to the group, the plans were approved despite attracting a large number of formal objections and despite a lease that “explicitly prohibits their tenant from making any alterations to the building”.
Campaigners said the decision raises concerns about the use of retrospective planning permission.
The application refers to the recent installation of new windows and the conversion of a fire exit into a public entrance, changes that were carried out prior to planning permission being sought. It was approved on December 8 despite receiving 28 formal objections.
Leeds City Council told the YEP the application was considered on its individual merits, and that its roles of planning authority and landlord are “entirely separate”.
The campaign group’s spokesperson, Martin Gaunt, said they believe the clubhouse, known as The Bar on Park Lane, has moved further and further away from golf-related activities in recent years.
He said: “The clubhouse feels more like a social club on golf club grounds than an actual golf club.”
The action group also raised concerns about what they see as the council’s failure to act over the club’s usage of public land for outdoor seating areas.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: "The council's roles of planning authority and landlord are entirely separate.
"The planning application was considered on its individual merits. Matters such as leases do not form a material planning consideration, so cannot be addressed through the planning system and cannot contribute to a reason for refusal.
"As landlord, the council considers the alterations were not unreasonable, and had consent been sought in advance, this would have been provided, subject to the tenant obtaining planning consent.
"In the meantime, the council is working with the club to make sure that the lease arrangements for the building appropriately reflect its current use."