THE owner of the controversial Marlbrook tip, who has already spent £30,000 on his plan to turn the site into a golf course, is taking legal advice after planning experts threw out his application.

Liberty Construction boss Eddy Mcintosh is taking legal advice on his next step, a possible appeal against the decision by Bromsgrove District Council's planning committee which rejected his application for the site in Alvechurch Highway.

The application, which is for a new drain culvert, perimeter bunding and balancing ponds, has been in the pipeline for more than 12 months after planning officers were asked to carry out further investigations, and more complex information was requested from Liberty Construction.

But this week Mr Mcintosh told the Advertiser/Messenger he is furious at the 12 to one decision of the committee to reject his plan after he followed the advice of the authority's own officers when preparing the application, and commissioned and paid for his own reports from drainage, wildlife and environmental health officers as well as the Environment Agency - which all supported his scheme.

He said: "I want a golf course, and I was advised to go for an application relating to just one section of the tip to show good will and show this is not just a tipping exercise.

"I've put a lot into this - we did not go into it willy-nilly.

"I have listened to all the consultants but the committee have just said they do not know what they are talking about," added Mr Mcintosh.

He went on to say the council had called for its own reports and paid for them out of "council coffers" only to ignore the recommendations which supported his application.

The decision, on Monday December 17, could lead to the site being blighted and the price of houses plummeting, according to Mr Mcintosh.

Council leader, Nick Psirides, said: "If we allowed the plans to go ahead it would be like re-opening the tip.

"For two years there would be material being bought in to level off the site, it would disturb many people, and we have no guarantee that we would have a golf course at the end of it."