New inflatable dome at Surrey sports club approved - despite fears of noise making lives for nearby residents 'unbearable'
Wentworth Club in Virginia Water has been granted planning permission to install a 10-metre high inflatable dome over three tennis courts
One of the world’s most exclusive sports clubs, where joining fees are reported to cost more than £100,000, is to install a 10-metre high dome over three of its tennis courts – despite fears air-pump noise will make life unbearable for some.
Wentworth Club in Virginia Water has been granted planning permission to install an inflatable dome over three tennis courts. It will be in situ between October and March after being given the green light by Runnymede Borough Council’s February 27 planning committee.
Officers told the meeting there were very special circumstances that outweighed any harm the dome would have on the green belt nature of the club, including increasing employment.
They said it would also help off-set a shortage of indoor facilities in the borough, improve health and wellness by increasing access to sport, and allow Wentworth – which has hosted some of the biggest events in golf – to remain competitive with other clubs.
How much this would benefit the wider community was called into question given the club’s exclusivity.
A resident speaking against the dome said: “Let’s be honest about it, a permanent building, industrial type building that is taken down temporarily.
“It is not a temporary structure at all.
“It is a permanent building that will be there ad infinitum which is taken down supposedly for six months a year.”
He said the dome would be too near his own home, bleeding light and subjecting them to 24 hour noise from the pumping system.
He said: “Wentworth can very easily change the location of this dome, and they can push it to where it should be, which is next to the clubhouse and next to the driving range. In other words it moves by 100 yards.
“They should really be applying for a permanent structure and doing it in an honest way. I would not object to a permanent structure that was beautifully erected over three courts without the jet engine but a dome,I don’t think is reasonable.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever stood next to a dome that is 60 or so thousand square metres with air permanently pumping into it 24/7 to keep it up.
“But it is a noisy beast.”
His position was echoed by many in the chamber including Councillor Chris Howorth (Conservative: Virginia Water).
He said: “It’s not that I really want to be a thorn in the side of the Wentworth Club or indeed to be in an argument with officers, but I am struggling with the noise.
He added: “The speaker himself talked a constant sort of hum. White noise might be very low decibels but it is quite impactful on the resident.
“And so we are only able to look at decibels, we are not looking at the resonance.”
Despite concerns officers told the meeting it had a poor record with defending similar applications against appeals and that, in pure planning terms, there was few grounds to object to the application.
They said issues such as loss of view were not protected and that noise could be monitored.
The application was passed by the narrowest margin after councillors were evenly split – with the chairman’s carrying vote siding with officer recommendations to approve.