Fairway or driveway? The furious debate over building houses on golf courses

“So angry… so sad,” David sums up his feelings. For him, the club (where monthly fees for a seven-day membership cost around £130) was a “largely community-based” place, and its closure resulted in many local residents “losing their friendship group”. A former county planner in Oxfordshire, he argues: “Planning and health are inextricably linked. People need to exercise; they need somewhere to walk, somewhere to go, somewhere to play, somewhere to communicate. Planning at the moment does not overvalue mental health and physical health.”