New £13 million golf club planned for North Tyneside

A planning application has been sent to North Tyneside Council for one of the biggest golf projects in recent years – a major revamp of Wallsend Golf Club.

The £13 million project will include the reconfiguration of the existing golf course and the development of an innovative and new golf centre based around its driving range and new technology.

That is called Centurion Golf Centre, a concept that is designed to deliver golf to a younger and more diverse market by looking to combine a full length golf range with a radical reconfiguration of the golf course which will enable six, 12 and 18 hole games to take place. It would also see a substantial investment in drainage and other measures including two water features and new planting to enhance biodiversity.

A similar scheme failed to secure planning permission earlier this year but this scheme has been amended to take into account comments made then.

The new centre will combine the facilities of a traditional driving range with state-of-the-art virtual reality digital technology. The advanced digital technology tracking equipment transposes players’ shots onto digital screens which can show a number of virtual reality games or a selection of world-renowned golf courses.

The two storey building will have 54 well-furbished golf bays complete with branded golf clubs and an automated golf ball dispense system fronting the driving range at both levels. Additional facilities extending to the rear of the bays contain a sports bar and restaurant, pro shop, changing facilities, golf academy, kitchen, function / meeting rooms and associated offices.

The building will also provide the new Wallsend Golf Club locker rooms to provide natural linkage with the course.

Phil Harrison, director of HG&L Newcastle, commented: “We were extremely disappointed when our original application was refused at the start of the coronavirus lockdown threat, but have taken all the objections on board and repositioned the range to face west. We have also completely redesigned the golf course in line with the latest PGA thinking to reverse the decline of traditional golf clubs by attracting new members to new forms of the game.

“The centre is a fantastic concept which is attractive not only to experienced golfers who can use it as a traditional driving range to practice, a coaching aid or just the fun of playing different courses in a virtual reality mode, but also to complete novices who can learn to play golf here whilst still having fun playing different games.”

Chris Sanderson, director of STR Enterprises, which will manage the facility, added: “Centurion Park is the perfect site for us to launch the new concept and the end result will be an innovative and professionally designed course with a truly superb facility in the golf centre which will provide some 100 jobs and create a £4m per year local supply chain when fully operational, in additional to the 60 jobs created by the construction period.

“The development not only secures the long term future of golf at Centurion Park, which is currently stagnating with falling membership, but will also become a visitor attraction in its own right, drawing both golfers wanting year round facilities and families and young people new to the game. Its use as a corporate hospitality and community venue adds further value.”

They hope the new facility will open in autumn 2021 and that further sites will be launched in the UK in the near future.