New golf course is on the cards for Ryedale (From Gazette & Herald)

New golf course is on the cards for Ryedale

A HOLIDAY company is teeing up a boost for Ryedale sportsmen and women with plans for an 18-hole golf course, gym and tennis courts.

Griffon Forest Ltd is hoping to build the new facility just off the A64 near Flaxton, less than three miles from the well-established York Golf Club, near Strensall.

The company, which already has 29 holiday cabins up and running at the site of the proposed leisure facility, has submitted plans to Ryedale District Council.

Peter Hill, acting liaison officer for Griffon, said it was an exciting new development, with proposals for a leisure club with a gym, indoor and four outdoor tennis courts, a clubhouse for the course and a restaurant.

Mr Hill said: "We have actually started work on the restaurant part of it because it already has planning permission." He said he was not concerned about building a course so close to two other established courses.

He said: "We have done extensive market research into the needs of golfers in the York area.

"It's an excellent location to site a golf course and it will be a very pleasant place to play."

Bosses at nearby clubs say they would welcome the new development if it succeeds in introducing more players to the sport.

David Crossley, from Forest Park Golf Club, near Stockton-on-the-Forest, said another course could encourage more people to take up golf.

He said: "Golf around York is well served at the moment, although I think another one in the area might stimulate more interest in the sport."

Malcolm Hutton, committee chairman at York Golf Club, near Strensall, said the club wished Griffon every success. He said: "I think it can only be good for the game when new courses are open, because it makes golf available to more people.

"We are a well-established club and we have been on this site for almost 100 years - we don't see it as a threat."

Updated: 10:32 Thursday, April 25, 2002