A company that owns the land that’s currently used by a Kent golf club is planning to undergo a £120 million reformation that will see the golf course reduced from 18 holes to nine, and hundreds of new homes built.
The scheme for Hythe Golf Club has been lodged by local firm GSE Group, which owns the nearby Hythe Imperial Hotel and 40 acres on which the course sits. The club leases the land from GSE.
A member of the club, Glyn Williams, said: “The members of the club do not support any proposal to develop any part of the golf course.”
He added that GSE has no operational involvement in running Hythe Golf Club.
The plans would see 48 three-bed homes built alongside 243 one-, two- and three-bed apartments.
Meanwhile, the eastern half of the current members’ and visitors’ course would be replaced with a public pay-to-play nine-hole, par-three academy golf course and clubhouse.
There would also be a new 18-hole adventure golf course aimed at children, families and visitors to Hythe – themed around the Napoleonic Wars and the Royal Military Canal which helped shape the historic Kent town.
The four-star Hythe Imperial Hotel, which lies on the outskirts of the course and dates back to 1880, would see a multimillion-pound investment to add 24 bedrooms in a new wing to the west of the building, taking its capacity to 116 rooms.
GSE is also proposing to create eight 430 square feet serviced apartments on the top floor of the new hotel building – each with a large bedroom, lounge area, kitchenette, workspace and ensuite bathroom – to meet local demand for purpose-built flexible accommodation.
To the east of the hotel, a new leisure building would be built to house a 20 metre indoor swimming pool, purpose-built gym, exercise studios for classes, and changing rooms, alongside a new outdoor pool and a spa and wellbeing centre open to both guests and visitors.
A splash park with public toilets, changing rooms and showers is also planned nearby.
GSE Group, based in Ashford, owns and operates the Hythe Imperial Hotel and previously oversaw the Imperial Green residential development next to the property.
Darrell Healey, chair of GSE Group, said: “This £120 million investment has been designed to strengthen the local economy, benefit the local community, enhance the environment and provide much needed housing to the area while sustaining the future of the Hythe Imperial Hotel.
“Central to our proposals are the significant public benefits proposed for the wider town, including an overdue solution to providing excellent swimming and fitness facilities in the town.
“We are equally passionate about the remodelling of the golf course and the introduction of new facilities that we hope will attract entire new demographics of participants into the sport.
“The proposals incorporate a commitment to improving highway safety and roadside parking on Princes Parade, as well as enhancing and protecting our national heritage and delivering significant environmental improvements and public open space.
“All of this would be delivered while being sensitive to the historic setting of the Royal Military Canal.”
The site was previously proposed for the development of a 150-holiday chalet scheme across the whole of the golf course.
Darrell Healey said: “We listened to the concerns of residents and radically redesigned our scheme to be better aligned with the needs of the local community and provide greater public access.
“The chalets have been replaced with a mixed residential and leisure development, half of the site will remain as a remodelled golf course, and Princes Parade will remain a public highway.”
The original version of this article incorrectly implied that Hythe Golf Club is planning this £120 million renovation. We would like to make clear that this is not the case – the club does not have the financial means to undertake such a project. It is GSE Group, which owns the land where Hythe Golf Club resides, that is the party seeking to develop the golf course land.
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