The old golf course became the town tip in 1926. Before that it was open land, divided into fields . (An old tithe map of 1841 shows the field names). A map of 1901 shows fields and also a strip along the river as marsh. On the 1987 B on A Local Plan the golf course is shown as an area for environmental improvement.
On this, the area to the west of the marsh shows a rubbish dump accessed from town via a cart track up from level crossing in Bridge St. By 1992 , or earlier the tip had been covered in soil but bits of rubbish still poking through. The waste dumped there was to be untreated household waste only. There was to be no industrial waste, construction and demolition waste. Waste should not be tipped within 100ft of river, nor below maximum flood level. In 1972 the River Authority said that tip should be kept 15ft from river. The site has not been used as a tip since 1988 at the latest.
Although it was only meant for domestic waste, there is evidence that it had industrial waste dumped there. An article in the Wiltshire Times in 1977 stated that lorries from all over West Wilts and Bath were tipping waste on the site and that it was full of flies and was a health hazard. It caught fire in 1953, either spontaneously or from cinders, probably the former as the Fire Brigade couldn’t put it out. Lots of complaints but it just had to burn out. Fires continued sporadically for several years…
It opened as a golf course in 1989 after Mr Hussey bought the site from B on A town Council. In 2008 and 2009 Mr Hussey submitted outline planning applications for 197 houses on the site which were refused on various grounds including problems of access and the difficulties arising from the contaminated land.
“On the basis of the above I have no alternative but to recommend refusal of the application at this time due to uncertainties regarding the locality and extent of contamination, the lack of definitive gas monitoring results, the lack of a final and comprehensive quantitative risk assessment and the lack of remediation proposals”
The affect on air pollution levels was also an area of concern. The development would have meant a big increase along the Trowbridge Rd and through the centre of town.
The golf course was closed over a year ago.
To have your say on why we should protect this land – make your comments here by 9th March 2021
Save The Old Golf Course 
Hi. I grew up in Bradford and well remember the tip as it was during the 1970s and 1980s. I can provide further information and a couple of pictures if you would like to contact me. I would like to help in any way I can to prevent this land being built on.
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Hi Guy! Thanks for getting in touch, could you e-mail us at keepitgreenboa@gmail.com please? It’d be really helpful to hear more of your experiences on the landfill. Thanks very much!
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