Sonning Golf Club to develop housing scheme

Published by

Tom Kilkelly

Dr Neil Clifton / Sonning Golf Club

Sonning Golf Club has won planning permission to build a street of 50 new houses on a strip of land just off pound lane.

Permission was granted by Wokingham Borough Council at meeting on Wednesday August 9.

Councillors voted to approve the plans by four to three, adding conditions that the club put up netting and build a footpath to improve pedestrian access.

The new homes could add nearly 300 people and 105 vehicles to a small village, increasing the population by about 17 per cent.

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Gaining permission has not been a totally smooth process with a number of local residents expressing their disapproval of the plans.

With this being said, the council responded via a report on the proposed plans. They said: “It has been demonstrated that the proposal would not impact the viability of the golf club and is acceptable in this regard.”

Additionally, the Golf Club itself has expressed its willingness to maintain the character of the environment that members and town residents have become used to. A particular area of focus was the replacement of the driving range.

Tom Rumble, from Woolf Bond Planning, said: “This man-made driving range is not pristine, attractive countryside.

“The proposal represents a high quality but sensitive scheme that respects the character of the site and the surrounding area in every respect.”

Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022. During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan). His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.