Club to redevelop course due to coastal erosion fears

Hartlepool Golf Club in Durham has submitted plans to redevelop several holes on its course as they are ‘at high risk of being lost to coastal erosion’.

The venue has lodged an application with Hartlepool Borough Council that effectively includes four new holes.

Holes two, three and five will have ‘completely new’ tees, greens, fairways and bunkers, while hole one will have a new green installed.

The proposals include the realignment of three existing holes on the course, which include further new fairways and tees at two of the sites.

The planning application submitted states the ‘new holes are being proposed to be built to replace holes at high risk of being lost to coastal erosion on the easternmost edge of the existing golf course’.

A design and access statement lodged in support of the application says all works will be carried out on areas that are already used for golf, including the existing academy course.

It said: ‘We will be working carefully with the existing site to create a course that mirrors the challenge that golfers face on the current course.

Image from Twitter

‘The course design, landforms, and landscaping have all been conceived to maximise this potential while sensitively ensuring the enhancement of the local biodiversity and allowing visitors to experience the beauty of this specific location.’

The works would also include the installation of new drainage and irrigation systems, the creation of three seasonal ponds and realignment of existing ditches.

A council decision is expected to be made in January.

A 2018 report said that golf faces an ‘unexpected threat’ from a slight rise in sea levels, while this is not the first UK golf club to want to make changes to its course due to coastal erosion fears.

For example, Gorleston Golf Club has moved its tees further inland after sand dunes supporting the course collapsed; Royal North Devon Golf Club has amended its course due to erosion; Tenby Golf Club has submitted plans to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority to construct a ‘coastal defence project’ featuring ‘mattresses’ made of steel frames and filled with stone to protect the course from erosion; Royal Dornoch Golf Club provided £30,000 towards a project to help safeguard the 10th fairway on its Struie Course, which has been under attack from the sea; Caldy Golf Club has maintained existing rock armour coastal defences; and Montrose Golf Links has said the venue may have to be moved inland as it is currently losing at least 1.5 metres a year.