June 5 2008

NEW homes originally planned as a timeshare development at Rowallan Castle Golf Club in Ayrshire are understood to be earmarked for sale to make up a £5m local funding gap.

The finance shortfall is understood to be due to adjustments to the proposals for the £60m championship course. East Ayrshire councillors endorsed a proposal for 14 residential units on the estate which are intended to raise the necessary finance when sold.

Councillors were told that as the application was considered contrary to the terms of the Development Plan it should be refused “unless material considerations indicate otherwise”. It is understood that outline consent had been granted for 14 holiday homes as part of a larger application for the overall development, which has now lapsed. The new application was change of use for the units to facilitate their sale.

The target opening date for the golf course, the first to be designed in the UK by Colin Montgomerie, is now 2009.

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