MEDIA RELEASE
June 3rd 2013
Future options being considered for Tamworth Golf Course
A long list of 12 options for the future of Tamworth Golf Course has been drawn up by Tamworth Borough Council.
And the authority has emphasised that each of the 12 options is being given equal weight and consideration, with no preferred choice at this point in the process.
The golf course reopened at Easter, after Tamworth Borough Council agreed to take it on and run it for a two-year period.
Since reopening under council management, membership numbers at Tamworth Golf Course have continued to rise. The course currently has 211 members paying for annual green fees and numbers of pay and play rounds is on the increase.
A number of improvements to the course have been carried out, including work to improve the quality of the fairways and bunkers. The greens are to be renovated and improved in the autumn and the locker room and toilets will soon be open in the clubhouse. These improvements have generated a lot of positive feedback from course users.
The council is completing the unfinished tipping and landscaping work on the course, which is being done to a high standard and is on schedule.
The authority has now drawn up a long list of options for the future of the course at the end of the two-year period. The options are based on a number of criteria, including regeneration, growth, open space provision, sports provision and financial considerations.
The long list currently has 12 practical options, covering a wide range of possibilities. These will be reduced to a shortlist over the summer, as part of the Golf Course Future Options Project.
MORE…
Golf club options 2…
This will see a number of surveys being carried out, involving borough residents, golf club users and other groups.
Cllr Steve Claymore, Cabinet member for Economy & Education, said: “We are looking at every practical option at this stage. All options are on the table and we are assessing them to see which is the best way forward for the future of the golf course site.
“We are trying to make the consideration of these options as open and transparent as possible, and there is no hidden agenda.
“We have a responsibility to the taxpayer in these times of austerity to look at all options and we would not be doing our job properly if we did not do that. Nothing is set in stone – we are just looking for the best possible option for the people of Tamworth.”
The 12 options under consideration are:
- Retention of 18-hole golf course
- Retention of 18-hole golf course, plus development of clubhouse, gym and other leisure facilities
- Retention of back nine holes, disposal of front nine for development
- Retention of back nine holes, development of clubhouse, gym and other leisure facilities, disposal of front nine for development
- Retention of front nine holes, disposal of back nine for development
- Retention of front nine holes, development of clubhouse, gym and other leisure facilities, disposal of back nine for development
- Retention of 18-hole golf course, remodelling and disposal of part of the site
- Retention of 18-hole golf course, part disposal of site and purchase of additional land at eastern boundary
- Complete disposal of site, with money generate spend on new leisure centre or other town centre regeneration schemes
- Continued in-house management of golf course
- Management of course leased to external company
- Setting up of social enterprise to manage course
The options appraisal is expected to be completed by January next year.
Contact Natalie Missenden: on 01827 709572 or by email
Jane Eason: 01827 709571 or email
Follow us on Twitter
or visit our blog