The Wirral Globe is "leading a debate" on the "Hoylake Celtic Manor Leisure Resort". Apparently its not called the "Hoylake Golf Resort" anymore. (we wonder why?)
So please join the debate and click on the Wirral Globe article and add a comment.
Wirral Council are due to debate the Hoylake Golf, sorry Celtic Manor Golf, sorry Celtic Manor Leisure resort at next mondays council meeting. We are sure the Councillors will be reading the comments on the Globe article.
We believe that the comments of Mr Edwards, the Chief Exec of Celtic Manor, are nothing but a PR exercise and should be challenged for the following reasons:
• The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales in 6 times the size of the Hoylake site, near the M4 / M5 junction, with 4 luxury hotels, very large convention centre and 3 championship golf courses. Hoylake will be a 90 bed hotel with one championship golf course.
• To infer that it would be capable of hosting the RYDER Cup or the NATO summit is totally misleading
• Why is he saying it is not just a golf resort and only makes up 10% of their business, yet then goes on to state that golf is not in decline. All the evidence shows that golf has declined, even the Council are off loading their Municipal Courses because they say golf is in decline? If its not a golf resort and its just a leisure facility why not build it on a brownfield site?
• Originally it was said that the resort would provide 175 jobs now they are saying 100 initially (with “up to” 300 later) – why have the numbers been downgraded? How can a 90 bed hotel support 300 staff? That’s over 3 members of staff per room!
• “Training and Apprenticeships schemes would give local youngsters career opportunities at an attractive, world famous tourist attraction”. World Famous Tourist Attraction?? It’s a 90 bed hotel with a golf course – the same as any of the 1000s of similar hotels across the world!
• Initially it was said to be a 5 star hotel, now it is to be a 4 - 5 star hotel (hardly world class then?). Where is the promised conference centre? Instead we are promised “meeting rooms”
• How can we trust James Anderson when he says “concerns will be listened to”. This is a man with a history of bankruptcy who failed to deliver a promised Hilton Hotel at his previous resort project in Llanelli, despite receiving over £1million in grants. He built a housing estate and took the profit, leaving local businesses out of pocket. How can we trust them when they say they understand people’s concerns and already have had conversations? They have not spoken to any local people or any of the many campaigners.
• The Golf Industry may do its best to convince people that they are environmentally friendly, by giving itself “sustainability awards” but the overall carbon impact of golfing is massive. The construction of the course will require 1000s of truck loads of fill and it will encourage visitors who will most likely travel in cars. The course will require massive amounts of energy to maintain. They may use less pesticides, but they will still be used in large amounts, polluting the water table.
• Mr Edwards states that “upto” half of the golf course area will be left uncultivated, but fails to mention the size of the area that will be concreted over for the hotel, carpark, roads and houses.
• A golf resort will be totally alien to the wildlife that use the site now. Flocks of birds and golf balls do not mix. Pesticides will destroy the insects and invertebrates that they feed off. The new road will also increase noise and pollution and destroy the wildlife it what is now a peaceful area.
• These resorts are designed to keep people in-resort spending their money, they offer all inclusive packages – if Mr Edwards thinks people will be spending all their money in local bars and restaurants, why is he proposing a 110 table restaurant to compete with them? Check out Celtic Manor’s website – it doesn’t even mention the local area.
• The golf industry is giving out “environmental and sustainability” awards to convince people that they are “green” – but concreting over farmland, increasing traffic and pollution and offering some “habitat creation” in return can never be a positive environmental move.
• It is absolutely clear that urbanising a flood plain leads to increased flood risk. Building some flood storage areas, disguised as golf features, will not be sufficient to store the flood water that climate change will bring in the next few decades.
• Phil Davies said this resort would bring “hundreds of thousands of visitors”. He was challenged on that figure and now they are saying “thousands of visitors”. Martin Mere has 200,000 visitors a year and brings £6million in to the local economy. Why have the Council not looked at Hoylake Vision and the WWT’s credible proposal for a Wildfowl and Wetland Centre – this is something the whole community could benefit from. It would be something the whole community could support!
• Why have they not looked at other options for the site, but have insisted all along that a golf resort is the best option - although we aren’t actually sure if it is a golf resort anymore?
• Can we believe Mr Edwards when he promises to work within the local environment and with the local people? The majority of local people don’t want this resort! How can we trust their consultation exercise when everyone knows it will just be a tick box exercise?
• Is it the Councils job to spend millions on a resort for the elite, to spend £17million of public money on the resort roads to service a luxury housing estate? Is it the councils job to offer wealthy property developers beneficial loan terms and to lend a venture company, with a history of bankruptcy, £26million so that they can make profits from a housing estate on the Green Belt.
• It is obvious to everyone that this is a smokescreen to build luxury houses on green belt.
• How can we trust our Councillors, when they say they want to protect the Green Belt, yet they are determined to sell off our Green Belt for a luxury housing estate and
golf resort / that may or not be a golf resort any more!!
Please add your comments to the Globe article, and lets ensure that Council know we can see through their PR exercise and Celtic Manors spin!
Thank you for your support!