PLANS to turn a former golf course into some green space for the community were approved by councillors last night.

Councillors met on Monday to approve an application to officially designate William Wroe Golf Course site in Flixton as a Town/Village green.

The course closed in 2017 and was being considered for housing as part of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) before the Council took the decision to keep it for the community.

Trafford Council held a consultation with residents regarding its future in March last year. The feedback from residents was that they wanted it to remain a green space for the community to enjoy.

The Council will also create a masterplan for the area so residents can make decisions over its future through a series of consultations. The key themes emerging from public consultation have been developed into a vision for the site as “a truly multifunctional greenspace, providing opportunities for a diverse range of activities, and a landscape where wildlife can flourish”.

Cllr Andrew Western, Leader of Trafford Council, said: “This is brilliant news. The administration originally took the positive decision to take the William Wroe site out of the GMSF development plan to ensure it is a resource that will benefit the whole community. Now we can make the application to give the site Town/Village green status for the community to enjoy.

“Trafford Council is totally committed to health and wellbeing and a green future for our communities. We are very excited by the proposals and ideas. Residents were clear during last year’s drop-in session that they wanted to keep the area for the community. We have listened to them and that is our proposal going forward.”

The Council employed planning and design group ARUP to carry out an options appraisal for the site to look at its long term sustainable use and management.

The Executive also approve that further work be undertaken to develop a masterplan for the site.