The story
Ben Pauling had trained jumps horses at Bourton Hill Farm in Gloucestershire since 2013. Like many trainers, he wanted a yard of his own, and like many buyers of rural land, he kept losing out on the farms he wanted.
In January 2020 he and his wife Sophie bought Naunton Downs Golf Club instead: an 18-hole members' course of around 200 acres between Stow-on-the-Wold and Cheltenham, built on farmland some three decades earlier. As Pauling later told Thoroughbred Daily News, planning permission was in place by December 2020, building started in January 2021 and the horses moved in during April 2022.
The estate now combines a 94-box training yard, a trotting ring, a sand gallop and a six-furlong hill gallop running through the course with a refurbished clubhouse and a golf course reduced to nine holes. A 500 square metre events barn, which already had planning permission when the club was bought, is being developed with a partner as an events venue (Pitchcare, 2023).
Urban Vista Planning was not involved in this project. We have drawn on public reporting because it illustrates something we see often: the right site, chosen with its planning position in mind, can make a business plan achievable that would be a struggle elsewhere.
Why a golf course made planning sense
Pauling's own explanation was that planning went relatively smoothly because the site was already a commercial business, and because the course had already been reshaped, so it was not a natural landscape. Both points reflect how planning decisions are actually made.
- An established commercial and leisure useA golf club already has a lawful use for outdoor sport and recreation, with a clubhouse, car park, access, staff and visitors. A training yard is still a material change, but the council is judging a change from one sporting business to another, not the arrival of commercial activity in open farmland.
- A landscape that had already been engineeredFairways, tees, bunkers, drainage and tree belts are man-made. In a protected landscape (Naunton lies in the Cotswolds National Landscape), arguing that gallops and new buildings fit into an already-modified landscape is a much easier case than introducing them to untouched countryside.
- An established highway accessHighways is one of the most common reasons rural projects are refused. Narrow lanes, poor visibility at a new access and the prospect of extra traffic on roads not designed for it can sink an otherwise sound scheme. A members' golf club with a clubhouse can lawfully generate potentially hundreds of two-way vehicle trips a day, through an access the highway authority has already accepted. That lawful use is a fallback position: the question becomes whether the new use would be materially worse than the traffic the site could already generate, not whether any traffic is acceptable at all. Horseboxes, feed deliveries, staff and owners' visits can then be assessed against that baseline.
- Infrastructure already in placeParking, utilities and drainage are often among the hardest and most expensive things to secure for a new rural business. A golf club has most of them.
- Existing permissions with valueThe events barn permission came with the purchase. Extant permissions are an asset in their own right, and reviewing them is part of any site due diligence.
- More than one incomeKeeping the golf course and adding events spreads the risk and helps sustain the estate as a whole. A diversified, viable business also tends to make a stronger planning case than a single use that depends on everything going right.
What this means if you are looking for land
The lesson is not that every trainer, livery owner or rural business should buy a golf course. It is that land with an existing lawful use, buildings and infrastructure can be worth more to your business than a cheaper field, because the planning risk is lower and the route to consent is shorter.
Sites worth looking at with this in mind include golf courses, former riding schools and livery yards, redundant farm buildings, garden centres, sports grounds, holiday and caravan parks and previously developed rural land. Each starts from a different planning position.
The Green Belt angle
Naunton is not in the Green Belt, but many golf courses around London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Bristol are. There, the planning position of an existing sports site can matter even more.
Under the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026), material changes of use of land for outdoor sport or recreation, and appropriate facilities for outdoor sport and recreation, are not inappropriate in the Green Belt, provided the impact on openness is minimised and there is no significant conflict with Green Belt purposes (Policy GB7). Reusing existing buildings of permanent and substantial construction is also not inappropriate. A clubhouse or maintenance compound may count as previously developed land; the fairways around it do not. Our guide to stables and equestrian development in the Green Belt explains how these tests are applied.
Whether a large stable block, indoor school or staff accommodation can be justified will still turn on its scale, siting and evidence. That is where early planning advice earns its fee.
Questions to ask before you buy
- What is the lawful use?Check the planning history and any conditions restricting use, hours or occupancy. A lawful development certificate can confirm a use that has never been formally permitted.
- What permissions already exist?Are there extant consents, and have they been implemented or are they about to expire?
- What are the constraints?Green Belt, National Landscape, flood zones, heritage assets, public rights of way crossing the land, ecology and trees. Golf courses often carry several footpaths.
- Will the access work?Horseboxes, deliveries, staff and visitors all need safe access. Find out how much traffic the site's lawful use could already generate, because that baseline is often decisive for rural businesses.
- Is there a credible business case?Councils look for viable enterprises, particularly where staff accommodation is proposed. Plan the business and the planning case together.
Frequently asked questions
Does a racehorse training yard need planning permission?
Yes. Training racehorses is not agriculture, so a new yard, stables, gallops, a horse walker or a change of use of land to equestrian use normally needs planning permission. The strength of the case depends heavily on the site's existing use, buildings, access and constraints.
Can a golf course be converted to another use?
It depends on the proposed use and the location. Changes to other outdoor sport and recreation uses are often easier to justify, especially in the Green Belt where national policy treats them as not inappropriate if openness is protected. Housing or commercial redevelopment is a much bigger step. Loss of a sports facility may also involve Sport England and local plan policies protecting sport and recreation.
Did Urban Vista Planning work on Naunton Downs?
No. This article is based on public reporting and is used as an illustration of how a site's planning position can support a business strategy.
Is it worth getting planning advice before buying rural land?
Usually, yes. A short appraisal of the planning history, lawful use and constraints before you commit costs far less than discovering afterwards that your plans cannot be permitted, and can strengthen your negotiating position on price.
This guide is general information for applications in England and is not advice on your specific project. Requirements differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and every council publishes its own local validation list, so always check the detail with your local planning authority.