Liverpool prepares to privatise municipal golf

LIVERPOOL City Council is set to hand over two municipal golf courses to private companies on 25-year leases, rather than close them as mooted earlier last year.

A report prepared ahead of a cabinet meeting on January 10 recommends North Liverpool at Kirkby is taken on by Formby Hall Golf Club, which is owned by the Hanlon family behind Maghull Developments, while Glendale Golf runs Allerton, south of the city.

Glendale is part of the Preston-based swimming pool and grounds maintenance group Parkwood Holdings. It already maintains both courses in a joint venture with the council. Both firms went through a tender process which had one other, unnamed, bidder.

The council said the plan will save it £339,000 a year, an annual overspend it has calculated based on an average subsidy per round of golf played over the past five years of £4.74.

Glendale Golf will pay £60,000 a year, linked to inflation, for Allerton while Formby Hall will pay £5,000 in 2014-15 for North Liverpool, rising by £5,000 a year to £25,000 in 2018-19, and in subsequent years. Under the agreement Glendale and Formby Hall will set fees and charges but must provide “affordable and accessible pay and play golf”.

The council report said: “The proposals for each course will generate an annual rental premium to the council which will contribute to existing and future budget targets. The improvement in the council’s financial position arising over the first five years of the new arrangements is estimated to total £2m: comprising £375,000 rental income and £1.69m recurring removal of the £339,000 overspend projected for the current financial year.”

Assistant Mayor and cabinet member for culture and tourism, councillor Wendy Simon, said: “This is a really good deal for the city council. It will not just save money, but it will also secure the future of two long standing sports facilities.

“We can no longer afford to subsidise the courses to the tune of almost £5 per round, but we know how much they are appreciated by the people who use them. That is why we have worked extremely hard over the last few months to put together a deal that satisfies everyone.
 
“This proposal will make sure that they continue to operate at a price that is affordable to users and receive investment to make them sustainable in the long term.”

If the report is approved, it is expected the operators will take over the courses by April.