Luxury Formby hotel gets its planning permission granted

Formby Hall Golf Club resort and Spa had been running without the correct planning permission and had to go before a planning committee to decide whether to grant retrospective permission at a meeting on Wednesday 19th October.

The owners have now been granted retrospective permission by Sefton Council in the planning committee meeting on Wednesday, October 19th. The application was supported by the PGA, which wrote to the committee to point out that the facility still fulfills its duty to help young golfers and also stated that the resort and spa facilities provide essential revenue for the facility.

Formby Hall General Manager, Andrew Pyle, said: “We are delighted with this outcome. It represents not only a positive result for the Resort but also secures the employment of its 200 employees and its continuing economic support for local business."

"The management team, supported by its new investors, will now focus on developing the resort's facilities which, in turn, will create exciting employment opportunities for local people, further revenue opportunities for local businesses and enhanced experience for all our members, guests and visitors."

The owners of the Formby resort were forced to apply for planning permission to continue operating it as a hotel. Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa have been using a section of the facility as an luxury hotel for several years.

The original planning application was granted for residential housing for PGA academy golfers, which would mean that the current use is in breach of the the original planning permission.

The resort owners had to apply to Sefton Council for retrospective permission for the change of use from residential to leisure.

The council's report on the application stated: "The use has been operating in breach of previous planning permissions for a number of years due to the use of the on-site residential and leisure facilities by persons other than those engaged in golf related activities."

The application has been supported by the PGA, which has moved to make clear that the facility still fulfills its duty to help young golfers and also stated that the resort and spa facilities provide essential revenue for the facility.