THE FATE of a £100 million re-development plan for St Mellion Golf Club was in the hands of Caradon District Council's planning committee as the Times went to press yesterday (Wednesday.) The council's planning officers had recommended approval of the scheme which includes a complete refurbishment of the clubhouse and golf courses and the building of 265 golf homes and an 80-bedroom hotel. If given the go-ahead, Crown Golf, which owns the site, is hoping to attract major tournaments back to the venue. Approval is subject to various conditions, including the provision of £550,000 worth of improvements to local roads, health services and training and employment opportunities. St Mellion was a golfing venue of national and international repute in the 1980s and 90s but a lack of investment and inadequate hospitality facilities meant the site lost favour in recent years. Crown Golf has been offered a five-year contract to stage the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) European Tour event, The English Open, on the condition planning permission is approved. But the radical plans have received opposition locally from residents who feel the long-awaited St Mellion bypass should be in place before the re-development. A petition of 111 names was submitted to the authority and St Mellion Parish Council objected to the application, saying it was 'excessive development in the countryside.'