I was so sad to see that planning permission was refused for the proposed new football facilities for Honiton Youth Football Club at Tower Hill, near Honiton Golf Club.
After all the work they have put in, it must be devastating for all the people involved with Honiton Youth Football that permission was refused because of the risk from stray golf balls.
Background
I’ve been following the progress of this project since I joined Honiton Town Council in May 2023. As a member of the Planning Committee, I reviewed this application a few times.
My first instinct was that the proposed location is not ideal, being outside of town and in the East Devon National Landscape. But then I looked into the history of the project and realised that all the possible locations in or nearer to town are either unsuitable (e.g. in a flood zone), in private ownership and not available, or have been built on.
As Honiton Town Council are consulted on planning applications, I voted to support this application on several occasions. I also voted to award grant funding to Honiton Youth Football in connection with this application.
The planning application has been deferred several times, as Honiton Youth Football have gone through cycles of amending plans, providing new surveys and doing all they can to satisfy issues raised.
The Last Straw?
To have the golf ball issue identified by EDDC’s planning department at the last minute, when the football club had already jumped through every other hoop required and were expecting the final planning decision, must have been the last straw for them.
The need for additional pitches within Honiton was identified in the EDDC 2015 Play Pitch Strategy, which mentioned “significant pitch supply issues in Honiton”.
The new Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sports Strategy currently being worked on at EDDC has also identified a shortage of football pitches for youth football. The new all-weather pitch at Honiton Community College, which was recently given planning permission, will be useful but comes nowhere near to providing the pitch supply needed.
Meanwhile, Honiton Youth Football is living on borrowed time at St Rita’s, where they are continuing to use poor quality pitches with no changing or toilet facilities and no vehicle access, which means that an ambulance could not get to an injured player if needed. Their lease has expired, so they are relying on goodwill to have any pitches to play on at all.
Independent Thinking
I’ll be honest, I don’t know what the next step might be, so I’m not going to promise the earth.
Is it feasible to appeal the planning decision? That could incur significant costs.
Could Honiton Golf Club help out by installing fences or netting to protect against golf balls going astray? They recently spent £1million redeveloping their club house, so they don’t seemed to be too strapped for cash. I’m sure people walking the adjacent footpath would appreciate that protection as well.
Whatever happens next, my view is that we need to do whatever we can to support youth football in Honiton. We should be encouraging children and teenagers to participate in sports, not putting barriers in their way.