Proposals are being considered for Cottingham Parks, including a hotel, retirement housing and improvements to the existing golf and leisure club house and facilities.
Two rounds of public consultation have already taken place, with hundreds of people finding out more about the plans and helping to shape them as they progress.
Over the years, Cottingham Parks, which is owned by the Wiles family, has evolved as a family business and grown from farm land to include two 18-hole golf courses, leisure club, equestrian centre and holiday lodges.
Under the plans, part of the site will be developed to help finance the hotel which, in turn, could have a major impact on the tourism offer in the area and create jobs for local people.
The plans are likely to include a mix of apartments and bungalows and will be a significantly different offer to the general housing market, as it is specifically targeted at the over 60s.
The Shared Agenda team is acting on behalf of Sewell Investments Ltd, which is part of the Cottingham Parks joint venture with the Wiles family.
Rob Wiles said: “Whilst the current business remains successful, we are always looking ahead to the future and the next natural progression is to add a hotel to complement the existing facilities whilst ensuring ongoing sustainability.
“The demand for a hotel is well documented and it will enable us to make better use of our existing complementary assets by catering for a range of guests including weddings, corporate guests, and golf and leisure breaks.
“This project will need significant capital investment and we’ve considered various funding options to make it possible. After a lot of consideration and research, we’ve also identified there is a need for retirement properties in the area and propose to develop an area of land adjoining the club to create a retirement living community which will help cross subsidise the scheme.
“The development proposals will not only add new facilities to Cottingham Parks, they will also include improvements to the existing golf and leisure facilities.
“Following an initial round of public consultation in late summer, we’ve taken on board many of the valuable comments received and have now shared our revised proposals in more detail through a second round of consultation.
“Any further feedback generated from the second phase will be used to help refine the proposals prior to the submission of an outline planning application.”
Since the first round of public consultation, various considerations from members and local residents have been taken into account, with plans modified to address flooding, traffic and highways concerns, impact on current membership at Cottingham Parks, and pedestrian links.
Jo Barnes, Managing Director, said: “This is a challenging but very exciting project. If successful, it will not only create a diversified business model for Cottingham Parks and bring new people to the area, but also improve older people’s housing, which is sorely needed.
“The housing will be built to lifetime home standard and be completely focused on what is needed at this stage of people’s lives. As well as accommodation, this includes health and wellbeing facilities already on site at Cottingham Parks.
“This will plug a gap in the local housing market and also create a unique environment to support healthy and independent living.”
Commonplace, an innovative, new consultation engagement tool, is being used to share all information and updates about the proposals. More information can be found online at: https://cottinghamparks.commonplace.is