Breaking commitment of the 1953 authority

Readers of the Advertiser will by now be aware of the forthcoming council meeting on February 8, when the future of Maidenhead Golf Course will be decided.

What they may not know is that Maidenhead Golf Course was sold at auction in 1953 and was purchased by the then Mayor of Maidenhead (Councillor T A Stutchberry) together with two associates for £12,100.

He stated that they did this to prevent the land falling into the hands of those less concerned about its future than local people.

He then offered it to the council for the purchase price of £12,100.

The council unanimously agreed to buy the golf course stating that this land was scheduled as an open space in the development plan and that public ownership was the best way of ensuring that it remained that way.

So why is the current council planning to break the commitment to its residents that the council made in 1953 to keep the golf course an open space?

The council argues that they need to develop the golf course in order to meet their Objectively Assessed Housing Needs (OAHN).

This is not true for the following two reasons:

1.If the latest Household Projection figures issued by the government in 2018 are taken into account then the number of new homes required in the Royal Borough would be significantly less.

2.Councils who have large areas of greenbelt, as does RBWM, do not have to meet their full Objectively Assessed Housing Needs.

The reason for the planned sale of the golf course to developers is purely financial, with no thought as to the environmental damage this will cause.

This is the main reason why the council wants to build 2,000 homes on this site.

If this goes ahead the impact on Maidenhead will be devastating and irreversible.

I do not think that the Maidenhead Councillors of 1953 would approve the planned actions of the 2022 RBWM Council.

I am sure that they would strongly condemn the plan to develop the golf course.

I believe that they would say: “Despite our best efforts Maidenhead Golf Course has fallen into the hands of those less concerned about its future than local people.”

If you care about the future of

Maidenhead then please sign the online petition asking councillors to preserve the golf course site.

GEORGE MIDGLEY

Walker Road Maidenhead