Will birds and bats be put in peril by netting 'safety' scheme for Lincolnshire golf course?

                                                                   

Waltham Windmill Golf Course - neighbours are divided over netting plan

A PROPOSAL to install  netting to safeguard neighbours' properties from errant golf balls has sparked fears that bats and birds will be put at collision risk.

The Windmill Golf Club in Waltham, North East Lincolnshire, is concerned that, sooner or later, a poorly-directed ball will cause injury or worse to an occupant of one of the neighbouring properties.

Over the years, there have been many near-misses and some residents are enthusiastic about the plan even though the net - 6.5 metres tall and 10 metres wide - will do nothing to improve the outlook from their windows.

However, others are strongly opposed, fearing that that birds such as swifts, swallows, tits and robins  could be fatally injured if they fly into the netting.

Says one: "Nets have longstanding issues with flying animals getting trapped and injured within the structures causing unnecessary suffering. 

" A structure of this magnitude would have an adverse environmental impact on the wildlife in the neighbouring hedgerows."

Comments another: "One of the many reasons you buy a house next to a golf course is the space around you, the green open views and natural landscape. 

"The obvious downside is the potential golf balls in your garden, but that is something you know when you buy such a house - a choice you make. 

"If nets were put up before purchase - again a choice you make before buying such a property. 

"Netting will massively change the view that was very much the reason why we bought these houses.

"It also introduces a synthetic material to this area, essentially polluting this natural environment - something we are all trying to avoid on a daily basis.

"The golf course brings a lot of wildlife to this area and a lot of us try and encourage them to keep coming back. The hedgerow area is extremely important for nesting and shelter. 

"Plastic nets would cause a significant danger to the very wildlife that the golf course has attracted over the years."

The golf club hopes that the net will be a temporary measure while trees are planted to provide a more long-term screening solution.

The application will be determined at Wednesday's meeting of North East Lincolnshire Council planning committee with a recommendation by the case officer that it should be approved.

Says he in his report: "Concerns have been raised in regard to the potential impact on ecology due to the net catching birds and bats. 

"The application has been considered by the council ecologist and no objections have been raised on the basis the proposal would not cause ecological issues. 

"The proposed netting is a temporary measure and of a modest scale. It is positioned in an open area away from flight paths for birds and bats.

"In conclusion, it is considered that the proposed netting would not cause undue harm to the visual character of the area, neighbours amenities or ecology. 

"It is a temporary measure to resolve a health and safety issue and is recommended for approval."

                                                                 

Cleethorpes architects Hodsons have supplied this image of the proposed fencing 

Netting, along with fencing (as here at a school in Cleethorpes), is sometimes perilous to birds and bats