Proposals for extended golf course in Chorley face delays after developers submit remodelling plans to council

Developers want to transform The Laurels At Charnock into an 18-hole course but say they now need time to complete the scheme. Work at the Preston Road site is already ongoing but, if the application is successful, could continue until March 2024.

The original plans to bring a new lease of life into the site, adding to its current nine-hole course, were lodged back in 2019, but work on the project was previously delayed because of bad weather meaning the developers had to ask for an extension.

However, planning officer Jonathan Haine said there was “no reason to doubt that the site would be restored to a high standard”.

The Laurels at Charnock was granted planning permission back in January 2020 to redesign nine of its currently disused holes in order to develop a more smooth course and give golfers a tougher test of their skills. Lancashire County Council’s development control committee approved the proposal, which involved bringing almost 27,000 cubic metres of inert waste onto the site to create 19 “mounds”, two greens and three new bunkers.

However, the authority stipulated that the reprofiling – and associated restoration work – at the Preston Road site must be completed within 12 months of it teeing off. The overhaul finally began last March.

Previous to this, a proposal submitted in 2019 to turn a redundant section of the golf course into a touring caravan site had been rejected after members of Chorley Council’s planning committee refused the application - which sought permission for 60 caravan pitches, six camping pods and two amenity blocks - because of concerns over its potential impact on the greenbelt where it is located.

The Charnock Richard Golf Course was an 18-hole facility when it opened in 1994 until closing in 2013, but the northern section was reintroduced as a nine-hole course in 2018. The southern part is the focus of the current work. A decision is expected in the next few weeks.