Plans go in for £7m luxury holiday park - creating 100 jobs - on golf course near Preston

Developers behind the scheme at Goosnargh say they have listened to the views of locals before submitting their blueprint for the 64-acre tourism park.

If approved, the project, by Preston-based GHV Limited, will provide 130 luxury lodges, 26 tourer/caravan pitches and 14 office pods on the village's former nine-hole pay-as-you-play golf course. There will also be an indoor heated pool, tennis courts, games room, bar, restaurant and spa. The development will create an estimated 100 jobs locally.

The planning application follows two rounds of public consultation in the autumn at which GHV says neighbours' opinions were sought and acted on. The company says it has had "overwhelming" support from locals for the scheme.

"We’ve taken the time since then (the autumn) to review our proposals and have made a number of changes in light of the public’s feedback,” said Peter Allen of GHV. “It’s a very good scheme, but the public feedback has made it better still. Our neighbours spotted some individual issues they felt could improve things and we’ve been pleased to be able to incorporate them.

"The proposals now go forward for the proper scrutiny of the planning committee and we await the outcome of their deliberations keenly,”

Goosnargh Golf Club opened in 2005, but closed down at the start of the Covid pandemic. Since then the course has become overgrown. The developers want to turn the site into a "high-end" getaway largely made up of luxury lodges, with 26 caravan spaces. Glamping pitches in the original design have been dropped in favour of office pods where visitors can catch up on business while they are away on holiday.

Peter Allen explained: “Our research showed us that residents of more upmarket destinations tend to bring their work with them, even on short breaks. The pods will provide contemporary, wi-fi enabled workspaces where they can escape the bustle of their lodges for a while and keep an eye on what’s going on back at base.”

He said feedback from the public consultation was "overwhelmingly in favour" of the development, with particular support for the developer’s commitment to local supply chain engagement and the wider job creation benefits of the scheme. “We’re in choppy waters economically and investment of this kind doesn’t just create jobs, it breeds confidence,” he added. “The public recognised this and told us so.”

GHV says that figures produced by consultants Hatch show that local businesses can expect a £1.9m annual boost in visitor spend in the immediate area, with a further £2.3m coming in the form of wages paid to locally-recruited staff, more than 100 of whom are expected to work on the site when fully operational. A further 45 jobs will be created among the local building supply chain during construction.

Original plans for the holiday park had to be amended when experts ruled some elements of the scheme would be too close to a gas pipeline which runs beneath the site.