Roads bosses demand more information on plans for adventure golf course next to A5
Highways chiefs are asking for more information before they give their blessing to plans for a new adventure golf course in the county.
In November Shropshire Council received an application for an 18-hole adventure golf course on land at the Lion Quays, near Oswestry.
The proposal for the course includes spectacular landscaping including a giant dinosaur, a lion, and a waterfall.
The application was submitted by Moore Adventure Ltd with the blessing of the owners of the nearby Lion Quays hotel and resort.
The proposal said the development would provide "Shropshire’s first Adventure Golf facility, which will be a high specification 18 hole course".
As part of the application - because of the proposal's proximity to a major road, off the A5 to the north of Oswestry - National Highways has been asked to assess the proposal.
In a response to Shropshire Council the organisation has asked that the application is not approved for three months, giving time for the applicant to provide more information.
Specifically it wants an assessment over how many visitors will use the site, and the plan for traffic related to the construction of the course.
In a letter National Highways said: "We anticipate that the development will not have an impact on the strategic road network (SRN), however, the applicant needs to demonstrate the anticipated use of the development.
"This can be done in the form of a transport statement which should include as a minimum: Development proposal details– information about the scale of the proposed development including any phasing, parking, access points, hours/days of operation (for employment uses), timescales for the construction period, and anticipated year of opening; Trip generation – information about the anticipated levels of traffic the development would generate. The data should include an hourly breakdown with a separate breakdown for the SRN peak hours."
It adds: "National Highways will require consulting on a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP). The plan will need to include measures for ensuring that there is no mud or detritus tracked or dropped onto the SRN.
"It will also need to include measures to manage the traffic impact of workers and construction vehicles (including abnormal loads) to avoid the busiest times on the SRN this includes peak hours."
The letter also highlights the need to make sure that the development does not lead to water on the surface of the nearby A5.
It states: "The development is located near the boundary to the A5. Therefore, National Highways requires a drainage drawing showing the location of the drainage and the flows, this is to ensure National Highways assets are not impacted."
It adds: "In light of the above, National Highways recommends that planning permission not be granted for a further period of three months from the date of this notice, to allow the applicant time to submit additional information."
A decision on the proposal will be taken at a later date.
