Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Caerphilly Golf Club has lost a bid for planning permission to extend its course onto an area of common land.

Planning officers at Caerphilly County Borough Council said the Mountain Road club’s proposal clashed with policies designed to protect wildlife and their habitats.

The club secured planning permission for the land more than 20 years ago “for the purpose of serving a 13th green”, the officers said in a report, adding the club now “intended to revive this permission for the use of an area of existing common land for a new fairway and green”.

But the new bid to retain planning permission for around a hectare of land was turned down by officers on Monday April 15, because the club had not provided paperwork on green infrastructure and ecological surveys.

In the absence of those documents, the council officers said the proposal “fails to demonstrate through the step-wise approach that the loss of existing landscaping, trees and presence of any potential habitats or protected species would not give rise to any harm – or that the proposal would deliver a net benefit for biodiversity and ecosystem resilience”.