Ryder Cup hopes stay in full swing after legal agreement change

Furious reaction from opponents to plan after committee voted to approve action to keep permission live

- By CHRIS GEE

BOLTON'S bid to host golf's Ryder Cup in 2035 remains 'alive' after the council changed a legal agreement which will extend planning permission for a massive development.

Developer Peel Land have existing permission for a £240million project to build a Ryder Cup golf complex and more than 1,000 new homes on mainly green belt land at Hulton Country Park.

However, the entire development is dependent on the borough being awarded the Ryder Cup and a decision on the venue for the tournament has been delayed until next year.

That left Peel in a race against time as the current planning permission expires in October 2025, meaning there would be potentially no live plans in place when the decision is made on a venue, jeopardising the whole project.

Any other development would be still be forbidden until written proof is obtained by the council that the Ryder Cup has been awarded.

Around 50 opponents of the whole scheme attended the meeting at Bolton town hall, watching on from the public gallery.

Chair of the committee, Coun John Walsh, described the application as a 'minor variation".

He said: "We are not here to debate or consider the wider planning application.

"Whatever decision we make today the previously approved planning application from 2022 remains extant."