PLANS to build detached houses next to Dudley Golf Club in Rowley Regis have been passed by Sandwell’s planning committee.

Councillors approved plans for three, four bedroom homes next to the course’s clubhouse on Turners Hill.

The site is part of the Rowley Hills Strategic Open Space which includes the nearby Warren Hill Nature Reserve.   

The development  would see the demolition of existing outbuildings and allow for on-site parking and landscaping, including new hedging to the front and the sides of the site while retaining existing trees.

In a report recommending approval, planning officers said:  “The site is situated off Turners Hill immediately adjacent to the golf club and forms part of the club’s servicing yard.

“Whilst being part of the Rowley Hills Strategic Open space, the site itself is already hard surfaced. It is bounded by trees to the rear joining the golf course, with a hedgerow to the frontage of Turners Hill.

“The scheme is modest in scale, being only three dwellings it is considered given the above that it would not prejudice the function and character of the Rowley Hills Strategic Open Space.”

An ecological appraisal said the site occupied previously developed land which had no habitat features of importance but recommended the introduction of bat and bird boxes within the scheme.

There were no objections to the application and members of the committee were told that because the land was part of the strategic open space, any decision would have to be ratified by a meeting of the full council.

The application was approved unanimously.