Letter: Perhaps We Need Landfill More Than Another Golf Course?

Published on: 28 Apr, 2024
Updated on: 28 Apr, 2024

From: Andrew Backhurst

In response to: Anger Over Traffic Impact of Golf Club Scheme

With Merrist Wood Golf Club being one of ten golf courses in the Guildford borough, a further six south of Woking, and many more close by, it isn’t hard to imagine how hard it is for each of them to attract players.

Golf has been in decline as a participation sport for many years as the population of the UK has got older and the younger generation hasn’t taken to it in the same numbers, so I am wondering if this golf course is going to be needed after it has been redesigned.

One thing that is needed in the Surrey area is landfill for inert material. This is produced in large amounts by the construction industry. Some of this can be recycled, soils can be screened and composted to make topsoil, bricks and concrete crushed for aggregate and even sand can be washed and used again. The one problem is the unrecyclable materials like clays and overburdened inert soil that need to go to landfill.

The chance to bring in 600k tonnes of inert waste to reconstruct a failing golf course would be an attractive one to the developer, with the current rate for tipping landfill currently at £180 + VAT for a 20-tonne load and only likely to rise.

So I say again, is this golf course needed? If not, why not build something that is needed in the borough. Guildford City Football Club has been in need of a ground for 50 years, and with men’s, women’s and youth football growing in popularity this might be an attractive alternative that wouldn’t need a large amount of the 135-acre site that is already classified as a sport pitch.

The developer could landfill 20 acres for pitches landscaping and car park with bunded acoustic barriers around the perimeter to mitigate sound. This would be a far smaller development, and in my opinion would be a better use of the land.