Campaigners' fears over plan for community hub on land at Mount Pleasant Golf Course in Lower Stondon

Applicant Bloor Homes Limited has submitted outline proposals to Central Bedfordshire Council for a community hub on 53 acres of land at Mount Pleasant Golf Course in Station Road.

There would be a multi-use games area and up to 1,000sqm reserved for social infrastructure, to include either a primary school with nursery provision or a pavilion and village green. The development also features public open space, footpaths, cycleways, internal roads and other infrastructure.

A Bloor Homes spokesman said:“We secured a freehold interest at Mount Pleasant Golf Course in 2022. The course will remain open until October and the previous management team will then be concentrating on operating the clubhouse as a leisure venue.

“We consulted on proposals to redevelop the course in 2024 for a variety of different uses. Our research indicates that there’s a need for accessible open areas in Lower Stondon, as well as education and other community needs.

“As such, the current application aims to deliver benefits to a wide range of local residents and community groups. The remaining land we control could accommodate residential development, which would include both market and affordable housing.”

The community hub would be expected to contain a sports hall and a separate fitness suite, with gym equipment, according to a statement of community involvement from planning agent Bedford-based Woods Hardwick.

Externally enough space has been allocated for the multi-use games area and for parking, said the statement. “The scheme includes extensive parkland open to the public, up to 40 half-sized allotment plots, a community orchard and a large play area.

“Currently there’s no public access across the golf course. This and the golfing activity creates a barrier between the eastern and western parts of the village.”

Stondon Parish Council clerk James Stirling told the local democracy reporting service “no specific decision has been made” by the local authority at this stage. It held an extraordinary meeting to review the plans and will meet again on February 26.

The parish council will engage with a consultant to shape its response and see what the other statutory consultees say about the application, he explained.

A nine-hole course extension was opened at Mount Pleasant Golf Course in May 2021, turning it into an 18-hole par 70 venue.

Resident Sue Brooks has called for “action now to save this crucial green space”, warning: “We believe this project is just the beginning and that an application for 400 to 450 houses from Bloor Homes will follow.

“This proposed development isn’t in the adopted CBC Local Plan. We think CBC’s only option is to reject this application, as it isn’t possible to decide the future of this one site in isolation.

“Local infrastructure in Lower Stondon is under immense pressure already. The viable, well-used golf course is a central green space for the village, supports health and wellbeing, and provides a wonderful habitat for wildlife.”

A ‘March for the Countryside 2025’ is planned at noon on Sunday, March 2, meeting at the Bird in the Hand roundabout.

The application can be viewed via ref.CB/25/00292/OUT on CBC’s website planning portal, with a March 7 deadline for comments.