West Northamptonshire Regulation 18 Local Plan

Collingtree Park Golf Club has been identified as “available” for residential development within the West Northamptonshire Regulation 18 Local Plan consultation.

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

Collingtree Park Golf Club is:

• 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 Golf Club

• 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

You should also add a brief personal comment 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

One or two sentences is sufficient.

How to respond

Responses should be submitted via the Official West Northamptonshire Regulation 18 consultation portal. You can access it on the link below, then select “Complete the Survey”.

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 below

• Attend a West Northamptonshire public consultation event

(Note: Wootton Community Centre – Tuesday 10 February, 2.00pm–7.30pm)

• Write to your local West Northamptonshire councillor

Details of events can be found here below.

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.