Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 29 July 2025 by Rachel Hall BSc MSc MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 5 September 2025 Appeal Ref: APP/Q1825/W/25/3363866 Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, Worcestershire B97 5PJ • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr J Snellgrove of Oakland Golf and Leisure (UK) Ltd against the decision of Redditch Borough Council. • The application Ref is 23/01332/FUL. • The development proposed is alterations to existing golf course including extension and re-profiling of existing driving range, remodelling of existing short practice game area and 3 No. new tees (1st 2nd and 9th); 1No. new green (1st); 1 No. new pond (9th) and 1 No. putting green with associated landscape and biodiversity enhancement works. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Main Issue 2. The main issue is whether it has been demonstrated that the construction phase for the proposed development would be acceptable with respect to its effect on highway safety. Reasons 3.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision The construction phase is anticipated to require 19,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) arrivals due to the need for importation of circa 171,000 cubic metres of soil. This is anticipated to be carried out over 12 to 24 months. It is expected to result in an average of 80 HGV arrivals per day based on 12 months of construction. This is predicted to result in a maximum of six HGV arrivals during the morning and afternoon peak hours over the same construction period. This would require HGVs to travel from the Bromsgrove Highway to the appeal site through residential areas and on roads with a rural character, including sections without pavements and lighting. 4. The appellant’s preferred route for this construction traffic is for a one-way clockwise route. This would involve HGVs arriving at the Golf Club via Callow Hill Lane, and leaving via Blackstitch Lane. The proposed route already accommodates two way traffic. Also, the one-way nature of the route would minimise the likelihood of highway safety issues arising from construction traffic HGVs having to pass one another. 5. The traffic survey for Callow Hill Lane shows a total of 4482 two-way traffic movements during the 24 hour survey period.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Relative to this, the addition of 80 HGV movements per day would be a relatively small percentage increase. Nevertheless, even spread over a 24 month period, the addition of 40 HGV arrivals https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Relative to this, the addition of 80 HGV movements per day would be a relatively small percentage increase. Nevertheless, even spread over a 24 month period, the addition of 40 HGV arrivals https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/Q1825/W/25/3363866 per day would be a considerable increase relative to the 49 HGVs identified on the road in the Callow Hill Lane traffic survey. The appellant’s independent road safety audit (by six:TEN Highways and Traffic Ltd) (RSA) gives consideration to the construction traffic routes, including the preferred route. It advises that no major road safety issues were identified. However, it makes a number of recommendations that it considers are necessary in order for the routes to accommodate the construction traffic. 6. For example, the RSA notes that Green Lane is generally wide enough for two-way traffic, whereas Callow Hill Lane includes a narrow stretch where vehicles travelling in opposing directions give way to one another. Consequently, it recommends provision of a temporary priority give way system or two-way shuttle traffic signals on the narrow section of Callow Hill Lane. The appellant considers that details of passing places and potential priority give-way measures could be addressed by condition.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision However, there is insufficient information to determine whether such measures could be accommodated safely in order to effectively manage the risk of conflicts between increased HGV traffic and existing road users. In the absence of such information, construction HGVs would give rise to a notable increase in the potential for conflict with existing traffic, including existing HGVs. 7. In addition, the RSA recommends that intervisibility at the junction of Green Lane with Crumpfields Lane should be investigated and that if substandard, appropriate mitigation measures should be introduced. This junction appears awkward due to the acute angle of Crumpfields Lane relative to Green Lane at this point, combined with the bend in Crumpfields Lane. Consequently, for vehicles exiting Green Lane, their visibility of vehicles travelling north east on Crumpfields Lane may be unduly compromised. Moreover, evidence of that intervisibility having been investigated is not before me. As such, it is unclear whether any necessary mitigation measures would be feasible. Consequently, there is a risk that the junction would pose an unacceptable highway safety risk due to the high level of increased use envisaged by construction HGVs. 8.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision The traffic survey from March 2025 did not identify high numbers of pedestrians, cyclists or horse riders on that survey day. Also, on the day of the RSA in July 2024 no pedestrian or cycle movements were observed. Furthermore, personal injury collision data shows that there were no personal injury collisions close to the proposed construction accesses on Green Lane in the five years leading up to December 2022. 9. Nevertheless, road signs are in place on Green Lane warning of pedestrians and accompanied horses or ponies being in the road. Similarly on Callow Hill Lane there are signs warning of accompanied horses and elderly people in the road. Moreover, these roads adjoin residential areas. Furthermore, both of those roads are unlit, rural roads, with intermittent pavements. In addition, the Highways Authority refer to use of Callow Hill Lane as a route for walking to St Augustine’s High School. No substantive evidence indicates otherwise. It therefore appears reasonably likely that pedestrians and horse riders would use these stretches of road on a relatively frequent basis. 10.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Consequently, without substantive evidence to the contrary, the addition of 40 additional HGVs per day would result in an unacceptable increase in the risk of conflict with pedestrians and horse riders on those roads. Moreover, given the intermittent pavements, no substantive evidence is before me to indicate that the https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Consequently, without substantive evidence to the contrary, the addition of 40 additional HGVs per day would result in an unacceptable increase in the risk of conflict with pedestrians and horse riders on those roads. Moreover, given the intermittent pavements, no substantive evidence is before me to indicate that the https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/Q1825/W/25/3363866 highway safety risk would be reduced to an acceptable level through conditions to limit the number or timing of HGV arrivals to the site or CCTV monitoring. 11. The construction route is not shown to be particularly congested and the anticipated construction period would not be unusually long. Also, the level of development traffic is said not to trigger the need for a transport assessment or the threshold for consideration of mitigation measures. Nonetheless, those criteria are not determinative of whether a proposal would be acceptable in highway safety terms. 12. HGVs already use the construction route and no highway safety implications of those have been identified. However, the construction phase would considerably increase the number of HGVs on those local roads. Although a temporary effect for the duration of the construction phase, this would amount to a significant increase in the frequency of the risk from conflict between HGVs and other road users. Accordingly, on the evidence before me, the construction phase HGV traffic would be likely to result in significant harm to highway safety. Images from the trial run video are not sufficiently conclusive to persuade otherwise.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Moreover, evidence in respect of alternative construction routes does not indicate that those would be preferable in highway safety terms. 13. Therefore, it has not been demonstrated that the construction phase for the proposed development would be acceptable with respect to its effect on highway safety. It would thus conflict with Policies 19 and 20 of the Borough of Redditch Local Plan No.4 (January 2017). These generally seek to ensure proposal are acceptable with respect to transport effects, including the providing for the safety of all road users. It would also conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework. Details of potential mitigation are insufficient to conclude otherwise. Other Matters 14. The appellant acknowledges that the construction traffic could give rise to damage to the highway verge. In the event that the appeal were to be allowed, a suitably worded condition could be imposed to address monitoring of the road condition and a scheme for its repair. The traffic implications of the proposal on completion were also found to be acceptable and I have no reason to conclude otherwise. Therefore these are neutral considerations.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision That the proposal would be acceptable with respect to matters such as flood risk and drainage and the historic environment are also neutral considerations. 15. The proposal would address physical limitations of the golf facilities and is intended to reduce the risk of balls straying on to Green Lane and the fairway of the 1st hole. In addition to safeguarding important tree groups and individual trees of note, the proposal includes the planting of circa 1,828 native tree species, new areas of rough grass and a new pond. These would amount to considerable landscape and biodiversity enhancements to which I afford considerable weight. It would also provide considerable economic benefits to the club and wider economy during construction and its subsequent operation. This would help sustain the club in the long term as well as supporting its use for events and private functions. 16. Nonetheless, the benefits of the proposal should not be at the expense of allowing the development to take place in circumstances where it would give rise to unacceptable highway safety impacts.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Appeal Decision Consequently, although the principle of the development was accepted by the Council and a response to the appellant’s case https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3 Appeal Decision APP/Q1825/W/25/3363866 was not made at appeal, the highway safety impacts of the construction phase justify dismissing the appeal. Conclusion 17. For the reasons given above, the appeal should be dismissed.

Redditch Golf Club, Lower Grinsty Lane, Callow Hill, REDDITCH, B97 5PJ — Redditch Borough Council — Rachel Hall INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4