Residents left below par as golf club flats get go-ahead

Council officials have recommended that the proposals by Baberton Golf Club for the development of 30 flats on the site of their existing clubhouse be given the go-ahead.

The approval comes almost six years after the club first decided to develop the site on Baberton Avenue and despite continued local objection about the density of the development and concerns over increased traffic on an already busy road.

The flats will be erected in three three-storey blocks. A new clubhouse and car park will be developed on the existing first fairway.

Hundreds of residents raised objections when the club made its first bid to develop part of its land in 2004, with the number of flats and the potential increase in traffic close to Juniper Green Primary School among the main concerns.

While councillors initially refused the proposal, the club eventually won the right to build there after the Scottish Government backed its appeal.

Since then, it has been trying to agree the details and has added a turning area for vehicles at the entrance to the site which they say will improve traffic in the area.

Council officials have also asked that the club pays 261,000 to the education department, to help deal with the expected additional pupils the development will bring to Currie High School.

Neil Ingram, planning spokesman for the Juniper Green Community Council, said: "The old Village Association put in a number of objections to these plans, as did local residents, over concerns about the effect they will have on local traffic and the adjacent school, and I'm afraid a lot of those concerns still remain.

"We will be looking for assurances that matters surrounding this development are properly handled, in particular access to the school."

Golf club bosses said they were pleased that officials had backed their plans, but admitted the effect of the recession meant it could still be some time before any development on the land took place.

Club manager Bernard Flockhart said: "We are pleased that the officials have backed these proposals and that will put us in a better position to start sorting out the details of the development.

"The turning circle is something which we hoped would remove a lot of concerns as it should make traffic a lot safer.

"We cannot say when the development is likely to start, as the recession has hit the value of the land, but getting this permission will allow us to move forward in identifying a developer."

The plans are set to be approved by planners on Wednesday.