An historic golf club in Surrey has said it will cease trading in March – the second major UK golf club to close since the start of the year. It also means at least three clubs will close on the same day in March.
Redhill and Reigate Golf Club was established in the 1880s and was the second oldest golf club in the county.
According to SurreyLive, the venue ‘has battled to stay afloat for almost two decades’.
The club is set to close at the end of March – meaning at least three golf clubs, North Luffenham in the East Midlands, Maywood in Derbyshire and now Redhill and Reigate will all shut down just a few hours after the UK is set to leave the European Union.
Redhill and Reigate’s clubhouse, which is privately owned and a separate entity, will however continue to operate as a venue, reports the website.
Club chairman Tony Hallett said: “I and the trustees appreciate all the help and support the council has given over several years whilst we have kept the club open in adverse trading conditions.
“Sadly, the club is no longer financially viable and the time has come to accept our combined efforts have been in vain and the club must close. Relations between the club and Reigate and Banstead Borough Council remain very positive and it is to be hoped they ultimately succeed in finding a long-term solution that will enable golf to return to the site. I’d also like to express my thanks to staff and members of the club for their support and understanding.”
The council had been in discussions with other potential operators to run a ‘pay and play’ golf course as an interim solution, but efforts failed.
The club had 660 members in the mid-1970s but that had plummeted below 300 by 2013. That year, the club, which had been owned by members since its inception in 1887, almost closed. It was saved by a sell-off and became proprietor-led for the first time. At the time, loans of £120,000 it had borrowed from members to stay afloat remained unpaid.
A local golfer said: “Everybody is totally gutted. There’s no real reason for it; it’s senseless, but everyone understands the owner’s side – you can’t keep funding something forever with your own personal money.
“The golf club has gone and the common will, I feel, be a worse place for it which for everybody else apart from golfers, is a real shame.
“I find it hard to believe the council would be stupid enough to let it close but they have obviously got their reasons. It all comes down to money, like most things, I’m afraid.”
A council spokesperson said the club was given a reduced rate when a 10-year-licence was granted in 2009, which was further cut in 2014 and in 2017.
Cllr Alex Horwood, the council’s executive member for neighbourhood services, said: “Our intention is to keep the site as a golf course for community use in future and we’re investigating options and potential operators to allow this to happen, but this will take time.
“In the meantime, the council will take on the day to day upkeep of the site as common land, as it will be too costly for us to run and maintain the site as a golf course without the support and expertise of an experienced commercial operator.”
https://thegolfbusiness.co.uk/2019/01/donald-steel-designed-scottish-courses-closes-down/
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