Ideas put forward to lower costs of Wirral golf courses

Wirral Council is putting together a proposal to secure the futures of the four public golf courses it runs while reducing the £270,000 it subsidises them by each year.

At Tuesday night's Tourism and Leisure Committee meeting it was revealed that the process, which is in its early stages, could include important changes for Arrowe Park Golf Course, Brackenwood Golf Course, Hoylake Municipal and The Warren Golf Course.

The biggest proposed change is a new ‘sports village’ to be built at Arrowe Park Golf Course, while a rise in green fees and further moves to increase the income public golf generates in the borough are also being considered.

Arrowe Park Golf Course in Wirral (Credit Google Streetview)

Explaining what the Arrowe Park Sports Village might be made up of, Andrew McCartan, Wirral Council’s assistant director of leisure, libraries and engagement, said: “Outdoor high ropes, climbing and emerging sports that aren’t currently covered on the Wirral, but are really popular among the younger generation.

“This could help, if we get it right, to bring golf to the fore.”

Mr McCartan added that other ideas included multi-bay driving ranges and that an “all-encompassing offer” that was not just for golfers was needed to address the current financial position.

If the idea is endorsed by councillors, a consultation must be held before any plan can go ahead. This work could start as early as November.

But some were unhappy with the idea.

Labour councillor Jo Bird said Arrowe Park Golf Course already had a sports offer, while fellow Labour member Christine Spriggs said golf is such a simple sport which is on the increase and suggested that major plans involving knocking buildings down and building new ones in their place were not needed.

The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party seemed to be more sceptical about public golf in Wirral as a whole.

Lib Dem councillor Allan Brame said the difficult question for the council was can it sustain four municipal golf courses, given the £270,000 subsidy required to run them?

Cllr Pat Cleary, who leads the Green Party group on Wirral Council, said he did not think the local authority should be subsidising golf at all.

He also pushed officers to look at the idea of increasing green fees as a way to gain some extra income.