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GOLF CLUB`S PLAN FOR £1.75M EXPANSION

By Richard Wright - Friday, November 16, 2007
GOLF CLUB`S PLAN FOR £1.75M EXPANSION
Stewart Blackmore outside Ventnor Golf Club club house. Picture by PETER BOAM.
THE oldest golf club on the Island is preparing to launch a £1.75 million plan funded by green tourism to propel it to the top.
The plan was teed-off at a meeting of Ventnor Town Council, where it received the enthusiastic backing of councillors.
It goes before Ventnor Golf Club’s AGM at the end of the month and a planning application is expected to follow if members approve.
At the heart of the scheme, which the club hopes will provide the cash to turn the current 12 holes to an 18-hole championship course on double the acreage, is 15 green golf holiday lodges.
Income from golf tourism is designed to fund borrowing for the plan, which includes a new clubhouse.
The club, founded in 1892, only got mains water two years ago after paying £15,000 for a connection and still has no showers. It had been hoping for transformation with the aid of a lottery grant.
Club manager and secretary Stewart Blackmore told Monday’s council meeting the squeeze on lottery cash from the 2012 London Olympics made a grant unlikely.
“If things continue as they are, the golf club will find it difficult to remain viable in the short or medium term.
“The 15 holiday units will be retained by the golf club and will not be sold,” he said.
“We are seeking the backing of the town council at an early stage before putting it to members.
“The lodges will be accessed off Steephill Down Road and the single-track access road will be upgraded, keeping it single track, at a cost of £97,000. We would encourage golfers to come to the Island in groups, providing them with transport
“The new clubhouse would be made available to the community and for external functions. There would be a first-class restaurant offering excellent levels of food and service with the finest views anywhere on the Island or, indeed, the south coast.
“Such a scheme would provide employment, generate revenue and provide valuable facilities to the community and to golfers.”
Cllr Buster Bartlett said: “I think it is a good idea. I hope it comes off.”
After the meeting, Mr Blackmore, former conference and banqueting manager at Gurnard Pines, said: “It is difficult for a small club such as ours with a membership of 200 to keep up with increasing overheads.
“I was very encouraged by the warm reception from councillors.”