Yahoo News World's best golf coach could be forced to close academy in row over tip
One of the world's best golf coaches who trained Britain's Master's champion and half of the Ryder Cup team has complained that he could be forced to close his academy because of a row with the Environment Agency.
Pete Cowen says his Rotherham academy - where he has trained Danny Willett, last year's Open winner Henrik Stenson, Darren Clarke and Matt Fitzpatrick among others - will not survive if a tip located just yards away from the course is allowed to reopen.
Mr Cowen and Rotherham council say that as well as being off putting to elite players the tip contains toxic waste which if disturbed would jeopardise the safety of the golfers and footballers at nearby Millmoor Juniors Football Club.
Mr Cowen said: "You just can't put something that is toxic next to a golf club. If this goes ahead there is a good chance that I will have to close. It is a sad situation."
The academy, which he has invested £1.7 million in since opening it in 2003, is also closely involved in the community, teaching local children and holding open days for disabled schools.
Mr Cowen said: "We have trained some of the best, we had half the Ryder Cup team here last year, and if this happens that will have to change, I'll have to find a field in the middle of nowhere.
"People don't want to stand and breathe in dust and waste from a tip that is 50 yards away.
"It is all bad news for Rotherham, the problem is how are you going to encourage businesses to come to the North when things like this happen?"
The tip, which opened in the 1950s, has lain dormant since it was shut down by officials in the 1990s and recent tests have warned that it could contain toxic material and cyanide.
Rotherham council have complained that they were not consulted before the licence was granted to Grange Landfill Limited and that the Environment Agency has not only failed to test the site but also ignored evidence of its toxicity.
The council has also written to the agency saying that it is "extremely anxious" that permission to use the site has been given to a company whose director Martin Hague has been criticised as employing "dubious business methods" by a High Court judge.
During a 2009 dispute with his brother over shares in a company, Mr Hague admitted to acts of "blatant dishonesty towards the local authority", exceeding waste limits allowed on his licence and getting a grant "as a reult of fraud", Judge John Behren's ruling reveals.
The council have written to the EA asking them to revoke the licence.
Councillor Paul Hague said: "If this goes ahead there will be devastation."
In correspondence with the council the EA have insisted that the site is safe and it is an offence for an operator not to provide them with correct information. They did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Hague did not respond to a request for comment.
