THE Maidenhead Golf Club (MGC) ‘won’t survive’ if it doesn’t move to a nearby golf course when it is kicked out of its home for a major housing development, the chairman said.
Paul Louden said they are expecting to exchange contracts within the next two months to take over the Winter Hill golf course in Cookham to rehouse MGC when they have to move out of their current home in Shoppenhangers Road, Maidenhead.
The 132-acre Maidenhead golf course has until the end of 2025 to leave the site after it relinquished its lease to the Royal Borough council for a reported nearly £16m in order to enable the development of up to 1,800 homes, a primary, secondary, and nursery school, a local centre, and public open space.
Members of the Winter Hill golf course were told by owners John Lewis Partnership the club will close by April at the latest as it is in “advanced talks” with MGC to sell the land and clubhouse, including two residential properties.
READ MORE: Maidenhead Golf Club "in advanced talks" to buy nearby golf course
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mr Louden said Winter Hill’s closure was “quicker than expected”.
He also said that they “didn’t want to leave” their home on Shoppenhangers Road but were put in a “very difficult position” by the council to surrender the land to enable the housing development.
But to ensure the survival of the golf club, he said this takeover of Winter Hill was essential.
Mr Louden said: “We think it’s a great opportunity to survive. [MGC] will be 127 years old this year and we don’t want to throw that away.
“It’s trying to get that success continuing and [the purchase] would be great because Maidenhead doesn’t want to lose two golf courses in a space of a few months, which is where we’re at if members don’t vote for it.
“It’s very difficult to see what the other alternatives are.”
Once the contracts are exchanged, the 400 MGC members will vote at the next extraordinary general meeting if they want to move to the Winter Hill golf course.
READ MORE: Maidenhead golf course homes plan sees major changes
In an email to MGC members, Mr Louden wrote that this is their “last chance” to ensure the club’s survival for them and future generations.
The chairman told the LDRS: “We’re going to plod on and see if we can get to a position if we can agree to sign a contract.
“We’re not far from signing a contract with them and then completing the contracts is a slightly different matter because we have to ensure everything else is working, ensure we have the right monies, and everything else, and that’s what will be doing over the next few months.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here