Resident Member Meeting Presentation – Thursday 26th February 2026 – click here

NOW UPDATED following the member and residents meeting to identify conflicts with stated council policy for the local area plan that can be used in submissions.

Collingtree Park Golf Club has been identified as “available” for residential development within the West Northamptonshire Regulation 18 Local Plan consultation. Member owned company, Silbury Golf 2020 Limited, as the tenant operator of Collingtree Park Golf Course, is submitting representations in relation to the West Northamptonshire Local Plan.

This is an early but critical stage in the Local Plan process. Individual responses from members carry significant weight at Regulation 18, when the Council is required to consider alternative sites and may remove sites entirely.

Why this matters

We are:

  • A successful, well-established club with nearly 600 members
  • Actively investing in improvements to the course
  • Operating under a long-term 25-year lease
  • A valued recreational facility contributing to health, wellbeing and the local environment

There is no intention to cease operations or release the land for development, and national planning policy strongly protects existing sports and recreational facilities.

What we ask you to do

We strongly encourage every member to submit an individual response to the Regulation 18 consultation.

Please keep your response:

  • Polite and factual
  • Focused on planning issues(not general opposition to housing)
  • In your own words(you may use the points below as a guide, but it is important that responses are not identical)

Suggested points to include

  • That you are a member/resident of Collingtree Park
  • The club is successful, well used and not surplus to recreational needs
  • The site is incorrectly described as “available”, given the long-term lease
  • The proposal conflicts with national policy protecting sports facilities
  • A request that the site is removed from the emerging Local Plan

Conflicts with Local plan policies:
You may also want to note that the inclusion of the Golf Course appears inconsistent with several of the stated objectives of the draft Local Plan.

Key areas of conflict include:

  • Objective 1: Environment & Flood Risk
    – Allocation of Site N19 contradicts flood resilience aims.
  • Objective 2: Green Infrastructure
    – The golf course already functions as green infrastructure, supporting biodiversity and carbon capture.
  • Objective 5: Water Environment
    – Additional hard surfacing could worsen runoff; open land supports better water management.
  • Objective 7: Health & Well-being
    – The club supports active living and mental wellbeing for all ages.
  • Objective 8: Infrastructure & Development
    – Local services (roads, GPs, dentists, schools) are already under pressure.
  • Objective 9: Connections
    – Poor public transport means new housing increases car dependency.
  • Objective 10: Supporting Communities
    – The club is an existing community asset that attracts a wide demographic within the local area.
  • Objective 17: Visitor Economy
    – The course contributes directly to local leisure and tourism.

You should also add brief personal comments about what the club means to you. This might include, for example:

  • Health and wellbeing benefits
  • How often you play and how busy the course is
  • The club’s social and community role
  • Family or inter-generational use
  • Contribution to the local environment and character
  • How the stages of construction will effect you (Traffic, Air/Dust Pollution, Road Closures and Community Disruption)

One or two sentences is sufficient but please add as much as you think is relevant.

How to respond

Responses should be submitted via the Official West Northamptonshire Regulation 18 consultation portal. You can access it here: Local Plan Consultation, then select “Complete the Survey”. If you have difficulty in accessing this, then email your comments to: planningpolicyconsultation@westnorthants.gov.uk

Please remember: individual submissions are far more effective than petitions or collective responses.

Consultation closes: 27 March 2026

What else can I do?

Submitting an individual response is the most important action. You may also wish to:

  • Sign the club’s petition here
  • Attend a West Northamptonshire public consultation event

(Note: Long Buckby – Wednesday 4th March – 15:00 to 19:30 / Brackley Town Hall – Wednesday 11th March – 12:30 to 18:00)

  • Write to your local West Northamptonshire councillor

Details of events can be found here: Local Plan consultation – West Northamptonshire Council

Summary

The single most important thing you can do is submit an individual response to the consultation.

Signing the petition, attending consultation events and contacting councillors can also help reinforce the message.

Your participation at this stage is extremely important and could directly influence whether the site is removed from the Local Plan before it progresses further.

Thank you for your support.