Many residents, and especially those who were involved in the original application by London Irish to develop the Hazelwood golf course, will already have received notice of the application to install a moveable 50 seater covered stand on the north side of the main pitch.
LOSRA Committee members met with the applicants on Thursday 29th September and were given a full explanation of the reasons behind the application which are summarised in the application thus:
"In order to provide a very small amount of seating, particularly for our less well able members and to ensure full compliance with disability discrimination legislation the proposal is to erect a 50 seat covered stand on the north side of our main pitch between the 10m line and the 22m line. The dimensions of the stand are 6617mm long by 3000mm wide and 2927mm high.
"The stand is a simple covered seating area that is pre-fabricated and delivered as one piece and fixed to the ground. It will be painted green on the outside to blend with the surroundings and the seats will be of a similar green colour." [NB. On visiting the site it would appear that the stand is actually intended to be positioned on the west (not the north} side of the main pitch].
LOSRA has absolutely no reason to doubt the good faith of the Amateur Club who are sponsoring this application but we would remind residents, (and especially those who were actively involved in the Hazelwood Action Group (HAG)) that in order to protect the tranquility of the cemetery and living conditions of nearby residents, we secured this important condition at the 2011 Public Inquiry:
'Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (or any order revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification), no moveable structure for the use of spectator accommodation shall be erected on the land'. Reason: 'to ensure that the noise scenarios remain accurate and valid, in the interests of protecting the amenity of visitors to the nearby cemetery and the living conditions of nearby residents'.
LOSRA will be making a representation before the closing date of 6th October but it's important that individual residents should also make their views known by visiting http://my.spelthorne.gov.uk/planning/ and commenting on planning reference 16/01495/FUL.
