Fynn Valley Golf Club to build new two-storey driving range

Fynn Valley Golf Club in Witnesham has been given the green light to build a two-storey driving range on land which is currently home to its white first tee.

A design and access statement prepared by the Woodbridge-based Peter Wells Architects explained that the club will be moving and remodelling its existing 9-hole par course to accommodate the driving range.

The new range will be offering 12 bays on each of its two levels, 24 in total. There will also be a single storey section which will house a trackman (golf simulator) room, a garmin room, a store and toilet facilities. Above this single-storey section, there will be a roof top terrace.

MP Daniel Poulter at a visit to Fynn Valley Golf Club in summer last year. Image: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)MP Daniel Poulter tries his hand using Fynn Valley's golf simulator. Image: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

The new driving range will be enclosed on all three sides with dark green metal cladding, while the roof will be finished with dark green and topped with solar panels.

The club was taken over by new management in 2022, with the new operators vowing to make the club "the envy of Ipswich".

East Suffolk Council granted the golf club permission to go ahead with the proposal on Tuesday.

This is despite the council having received several objections, many of them raising concerns about the increased volume of traffic.

“The proposed development shifts the position of the driving range buildings from being next to the road to the area next to the clubhouse, which obviously means that the cars utilising the range will need to travel up the full length of the main drive in order to park, significantly increasing the volume of traffic adjacent to the clubhouse and the existing residential area,” one resident wrote.

One of the conditions which East Suffolk Council stipulated was that the areas Fynn Valley had identified for parking, manoeuvring, loading and unloading had been provided.