Hurst Golf Course Clubhouse Closure and Loss of Key Facilities

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WBC and their clubhouse management, Baking Waves (experienced in making cakes) ran down and closed the clubhouse facility at Sandford lane in November last year, resulting in the loss of changing facilities, bar, pro shop, meeting area, notices, nearly 30 yrs of memorabilia, booking in area etc.

Before and since then, HGC, have spent much effort and time (on behalf all golfers and local residents, over 600 people signed our petition in just a 3wk period!) to try to secure these facilities for the benefit of all, in hope that the golf course would survive, remaining a sport and social location as it has been for over 35yrs.

HGC had a meeting with WBC on 11^th December 2008, obviously not too concerned with time and loss of revenue, they have they have just responded with an offer! Click here to read their proposal. Sadly the basis of which is that HGC (their biggest customer spending in excess of £80,000pa on green fees alone last year) to pay WBC an additional £10,000pa (approximately) to provide a meeting room, with limited availability and no provision for a bar, this clearly is not a clubhouse facility, but is actually facility currently on offer to anyone, at less cost and commitment, and will not encourage golfers to play there.

Since these facilities were stopped in November, HGC have been playing their golf elsewhere and the revenue HGC haven’t spent in the last 3months at Hurst is over £12,000 in the quietest 3mths of the year! We expect WBC to brush of their reduced income on the weather, even though HGC have a reduced playing membership, we have still spent £10,000 at other courses over this time.

We have now had an offer to permanently move our club and play elsewhere and so have decided to make a final “last resort” offer to council. The basis of which is to lease the Old Clubhouse, or either of the rooms at the “barn” to provide a clubhouse facility including a bar, notices memorabilia etc. of course, in doing so providing the council with not just a customer base spending over £80k but also a rental income, initially this could add an immediate £12,000 to WBC plus providing a “community service” to many. We have a deadline for WBC to respond to, which is just before our EGM, if WBC do not reply or offer a suitable solution to provide adequate facilities, we will be taking WBCs’ officers advice and will “play elsewhere”.