{"id":680972,"date":"2026-01-07T23:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T23:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680972\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T23:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T23:32:14","slug":"down-grange-park-saved-from-golf-course-relocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/680972\/","title":{"rendered":"Down Grange Park saved from golf course relocation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Following sustained opposition from residents, sports clubs and community groups, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council<\/a> has confirmed it will no longer pursue proposals to relocate a pitch and putt golf course to the popular park.\n<\/p>\n

\n Plans had been approved in January 2025 to move the pitch and putt to Down Grange as part of a conditional agreement with Great Wolf Resorts, which is seeking to build an indoor water park resort and a 500-bed hotel at Basingstoke Golf Centre.\n<\/p>\n

\n The proposals sparked widespread concern among users of Down Grange, including Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletic Club, the Disc Golf Club, community organisations, residents and dog walkers, who united under the Save Down Grange campaign.\n<\/p>\n

\n In a Cabinet meeting on January 6, Cllr Kerry Morrow announced that proposals to relocate the pitch and putt to Down Grange had been \u2018taken off the table\u2019 following feedback from the community.\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Morrow said: \u201cI and the rest of my colleagues have heard over recent months just how much Down Grange means to the local communities, we have listened and we have taken action, we will no longer consider Down Grange for the new pitch and putt course.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Residents and councillors celebrate after Down Grange is saved (Image: Newsquest)\n<\/p>\n

\n Councillors also agreed that a 20-bay golf pod-style driving range and an 18-hole adventure golf course would instead be relocated to unused land at the Leisure Park<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Speaking at the meeting, campaigner Susie Johnson highlighted the scale of public support, explaining that the Save Down Grange Facebook page, set up just four months ago, had received more than 600,000 views from over 83,000 people.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cPeople really do care about this space, it\u2019s a wonderful space, it\u2019s great to hear that it\u2019s going to be protected.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The decision was welcomed by local sports groups who had raised concerns about the loss of training and competition facilities.\n<\/p>\n

\n Speaking after the meeting, Ray Gartland, Masters Athletics Secretary from Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletic Club, said: \u201cI am delighted with the decision, delighted that the council has reached the right decision, it\u2019s fantastic.\n<\/p>\n

\n Down Grange golf course CGI (Image: Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council)\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt would be nice if the town could keep a pitch and putt, but not at the expense of Down Grange.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The council has confirmed it will now look for an alternative site for the pitch and putt.\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Sean Dillow also welcomed the announcement, describing it as a victory for community action.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cThis is a huge win for the Down Grange community and a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when residents stand together and refuse to be ignored.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cFor months, local people have lived through an emotional rollercoaster – genuinely fearing that one of Basingstoke\u2019s most cherished open spaces would be lost.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The campaign on October 16 (Image: Sean Dillow)\n<\/p>\n

\n Despite the positive outcome, several residents and councillors used the opportunity to criticise how the consultation process had been handled.\n<\/p>\n

\n Resident Lucy Wayne said she felt the council failed to properly engage with the public or sports clubs before decisions were made, and that Down Grange had been selected \u2018without knowing how the area was used.\u2019\n<\/p>\n

\n Cllr Simon Minas-Bound echoed those concerns, saying: \u201cI also share the campaign team\u2019s frustration that there wasn\u2019t meaningful engagement at the very start of this process.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen decisions affect such an important community asset, early and genuine consultation should be the default, and it\u2019s vital that this never happens again.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n During the cabinet meeting, Cllr Stephen Reid called on the council to go further by resolving to \u2018maintain Down Grange Park as a long-term site for casual leisure and recreation activities\u2019, rather than simply ruling out the golf relocation.\n<\/p>\n

\n He was told by cabinet member Cllr Onnalee Cubitt that the protection of Down Grange is now implicit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following sustained opposition from residents, sports clubs and community groups, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has confirmed it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4106],"tags":[2826,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-680972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115856431053659092","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}