Liverpool prepares for golf course handover

LIVERPOOL City Council is close to completing a deal to hand over two municipal golf courses to private companies on 25-year leases as it seeks to save £2m over five years.

North Liverpool at Kirkby will be run by Formby Hall Golf Club, which is owned by the Hanlon family behind Maghull Developments, while Glendale Golf will run 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. It will also generate rental income of £375,000.

Glendale Golf will pay £60,000 a year, linked to inflation, for Allerton and 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”.

Cabinet member for culture and tourism, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “Since the deal was approved, we have been in discussions with the incoming operators to finalise the details of the transfer to make sure it is as seamless as possible for golfers. We can no long 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 worked extremely hard 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.”