'Nothing short of farcical': Resident slams council debate on Leicestershire golf course plan

A resident has slammed as "farcical" a council debate on major proposals for Enderby Golf Course and part of the adjacent Carlton Park site. Thousands of people have signed petitions to oppose Blaby District Council's (BDC) desire to earmark the sites for up to 800 homes in its Local Plan - an official document that outlines where future development can take place of an area.

More than 5,000 signatures against the plan were put before BDC at its meeting of the full council earlier this week, and the public was invited to attend the session so they could listen to and take part in a debate about the scheme. However, dozens of opponents who wanted to attend were turned away.

One of the petition organisers, Sandra Stevens, told LeicestershireLive: "It was nothing short of farcical. Approximately 40 residents were refused entry despite the meeting having been widely advertised. The debates were complete non-events. Only two councillors spoke.

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"The other 34 remained completely silent. The level of disdain and contempt from the majority of councillors and the senior staff present was palpable.

"It was also revealed [at the meeting] by Coun Luke Cousins that the decision to sell the golf course had already been made in a behind closed doors meeting, the minutes of which are not available to the public. Why behind closed doors?"

The 56-year-old added: "We believe there is to be a further behind closed doors meeting to discuss further the petitions and the site inclusion in the Local Plan. Again why all the secrecy and behind closed doors meetings?

Following passionate speeches by resident Sue Wareham, who spoke on behalf of the Carlton Park and Enderby Golf Course petition, which gained 3,095 signatures, and Chris D'Araujo, speaking on behalf of the Keep Enderby Golf Course Open petition, which gained 2,146 signatures, two councillors, Hannah Gill and Luke Cousin, addressed the meeting in support of the opponents.

An aerial photograph of Carlton Park and Enderby Golf Course
An aerial photograph of Carlton Park and Enderby Golf Course -Credit:Jefferson Air Photography

Coun Gill said she "100 per cent supported" the residents of Enderby, Narborough and Littlethorpe who were against the scheme, urging the council to listen to residents and "move towards taking decisive action to protect community assets from further residential development".

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Coun Cousins said it was "very hard" not to listen to petitions of this size. He said the decision to sell the land was made by council under closed chambers, and added that despite it being too late to undo that decision, he planned to ask BDC's scrutiny committee to look at the process "to see if there's some way that we can potentially be more foresighted in future on such things".

A spokesperson from BDC said it "recognised" the public interest in the meeting and that meant they accommodated space accordingly. However, they were "disappointed" to have to turn 28 people away as the authority had "to be mindful of public safety and fire regulations".

The spokesperson added: "Ahead of the meeting we made it clear that no decision was going to be made on the land referenced by the petitions and its inclusion in the Local Plan and explained the process. The decision to dispose of the land was taken at a full council meeting in September 2023 and was an exempt item due to confidentiality reasons regarding the business and financial interests of the Council.

"While it was a private report the decision was made at full council and open to all elected representatives. The decision to dispose of the land was made by councillors in line with the council's constitution. The Hayes Gardens petition will now be considered as part of the Local Plan consultation process later this year.

"Full public consultation on the draft Local Plan, known as the Regulation 19 stage, is expected to be announced at the July Full Council meeting. The petition that the golf course remain open will receive a written response."

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