Three more golf clubs set to have housing built on them

Another three golf clubs have revealed that they are set to have housing built on them.

The number of owners of golf clubs that have pursued housing projects has soared recently with, for example, in just the last few days Brackley Golf Course in Manchester has been sold to a property developer for nearly £40 million and Milford Golf Club in Surrey has revealed that a national housebuilder has secured planning permission to build 190 homes by it.

Now Canterbury Golf Club has revealed plans to raise £3 million for a new clubhouse by converting 14 acres of its land, which currently includes the existing driving range and golf academy, into more than 100 homes.

Its local authority is currently considering a number of sites for housing developments.

Director Robin Whiting said: “We are just putting our toe in the water at this stage to see what’s possible.”

He added that the majority of club members are “broadly supportive” of the idea.

“The current pre-war clubhouse is quite dated and a new one would have the potential to bring in more revenue, and be available to non-members to hire for things like functions,” he said.

“But that’s not the sort of money we have to hand because we are a members’ club, and everything we earn is put back into the course – like the £100,000 we’ve recently had to spend on drainage.

“Obviously it’s very early days, but there would have to be some reconfiguration of the course and re-siting of the driving range. But we are not at the stage of talking to any developers or anything like that.”

Meanwhile, Deane Golf Club in Bolton has applied for planning permission to build 14 houses on its land.

The club wishes to use the capital from the sale of the site to re-invest back into the course and its facilities to support the long-term future of the club.

The area forms part of the 10th hole at the club and should the development go ahead the course will be reconfigured to create a different hole for golfers.

And up to 480 new homes could be built on Bognor Golf Club, which would be relocated, new plans have revealed.

Proposals lay out plans to turn the golf course into a new neighbourhood featuring ‘new, high-quality’ and ‘affordable’ housing, with opportunities to repurpose existing clubhouse buildings for community use and open-up previously inaccessible areas of the land for recreation.

The club hopes to move about two miles away, and build an 18-hole, par 72 course and a nine-hole course. A more modern clubhouse, car parking and larger, more varied putting greens have also been promised in the plans.

Hallam Land Management, the developer behind the plans, aims to submit an outline planning application for the redevelopment of the existing golf course by the end of the year.