Game over at Flaxby Golf Club

The golf club shut its doors on Tuesday (March 31), making six people redundant from the course which was at one time tipped as a potential host for the Ryder Cup.

Last year the Knaresborough Post exclusively revealed Flaxby Golf Club owner’s ambitious plans to build a new town of up to 2,500 on the 280 acre site, scrapping their initial proposals for a 300-bed five star hotel and spa.

A Skelwith spokesperson said: “As planned the course closed on the final day of the current season, March 31.

“Our masterplan for a new sustainable village on the course is progressing well and evolving following feedback from the Council, various consultees and the local community.”

The company have delayed putting a planning application forward to Harrogate Borough ­Council.

They had initially hoped to submit an application in March, however now say plans will be submitted ‘in the next few months’.

Planning applications of this scale can take council’s several months to consider and it could be over a year until a decision is made.

A public consultation event was held at the clubhouse in December and residents raised some concerns about whether King James’s School or the road network could cope with the additional ­influx of people.

Knaresborough Town Councillor Andrew Willoughby said at the event that people in Knaresborough had been shocked by the idea ‘which seemed to come out of nowhere.’

Skelwith Group’s spokesperson added: “We are planning further consultation events to update the community about the evolution of the masterplan and are trying to ensure the plans will offer as many benefits as possible. We are committed to producing a sustainable new community that will help to solve the housing shortage in the area.

“The plans will include facilities for the new homes including a village centre, a new hotel, a public transport hub, a new school and medical centre, as well as community ­facilities.

“A planning application is actively being worked up at the moment and it will be submitted following further discussions with all parties. Clearly these are major plans for the wider area and we will submit an application when the plans are fully ready.”

The Flaxby golf course was heralded as one of the premier courses in the North of England when it opened in 2004, however the Skelwith Group say the course is simply not profitable and that the region has too many golfing facilities.

Work on the roundabout to the site finished last year and cost £4million, making it the most expensive in North Yorkshire, though more road improvements would be needed to accommodate 2,500 
homes.