Centurion Club Hemel Hempstead Road Leverstock Green Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire HP3 8LA Data via plota.co.uk

Proposal

Provision of 10 additional holes to the existing 18-hole golf course Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
16 Oct 2023
✓
Validated
17 Nov 2023
✓
Committee
8 Jun 2026
✗
Refused
11 Jun 2026
Appeal
Not lodged

Refused on 11 Jun 2026 · Planning Committee · Last checked 18 Sept 2026

Planning committee

Decided by St Albans Development Management Committee on 8 Jun 2026.

Refused by 8 votes to 0

Against officer advice: officers had recommended approval.

  • Officers advised approval subject to referral and conditions, saying ecological harm could be mitigated through woodland management and compensatory planting.
  • Objectors raised concerns about tree loss, wildlife, the White Admiral butterfly, footpaths, water supply and the limited community benefit.
  • The committee rejected approval, then voted eight to zero to refuse because mitigation would not outweigh harm to trees and the White Admiral butterfly.
Read how the committee decided The proposed golf-course expansion, officers’ assessment, objections, committee debate and reasons for refusal.

Source: Plota analysis of St Albans's committee minutes of 8 Jun 2026.

Site constraints 3

4 listed buildings within 150 m of the postcode pin
Nearest: L-Plan Range of Outbuildings on South and East Sides of East Yard at Corner Farm, Grade II, about 24 m from the postcode pin · 4 Grade II
The site itself is not listed. Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show all 4 with distances
Historic England ↗
Green belt: London
Inappropriate development needs very special circumstances.
Green belt policy allows a short list of exceptions, such as limited extensions and replacement buildings. Anything else needs very special circumstances that clearly outweigh the harm.
Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 18 September 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
St Albans
Application type
SMD
Postcode
HP3 8LA
Received
16 Oct 2023
Validated
17 Nov 2023
Ward
Verulam
Parish
ST MICHAEL
Case officer
Show
Target decision
30 Dec 2025
Decision
DC4 Refusal
Decision date
11 Jun 2026
Decision level
Planning Committee
Agent
Dla Town Planning Ltd (Dla Town Planning Ltd)
Leaseholder
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 937 days from validation, 882 days slower than St Albans's median of 55 for commercial premises. Refused, as 24% of commercial premises here are.

57%decided within 8 weeks
76%approved
62decided in the last year

Plota live figures for commercial premises decided by St Albans in the last twelve months, from validation. St Albans decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
302918PLN
Planning Portal ref
12515963
Comments by
30 Dec 2025
Site or press notice
7 Dec 2023
Committee
8 Jun 2026
Statutory expiry
14 Feb 2024
St Albans
Planning Authority Score
1.1/10
Poor
#290 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

St Albans is one of the slowest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #285 out of 296. The council extends the time limit on 64% of applications - one of the highest rates in England. Expect your application to take longer than the standard deadline. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (88%) than the national average (90%).

Among the slowest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
St Albans decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
87%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #180 of 296
88%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #226 of 296
29%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #285 of 296
64%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #278 of 296
74%
Minor dwellings approved
130 decided (1-9 homes)
61%
Major dwellings approved
18 decided (10+ homes)
77%
Change of use approved
26 decided
1,411
Total decisions
184 refused in the year to March 2026

Leaseholders: Information produced by HM Land Registry. © Crown copyright 2026. Source: HM Land Registry, UK and overseas companies that own property in England and Wales, September 2026 release.