News: Waterfront Golf on expansion drive
Waterfront Golf in the heart of the Manvers regeneration area in Rotherham is hoping to expand with a new par 3 course in a bid to attract more young people to the game.
The popular nine hole golf course opened in 2008 and also includes a 32 bay floodlit golf driving range, practice facilities, simulator, club house and retail space. It is a major part of the Manvers Waterfront development, the 285-acre mixed-use regeneration of the former Manvers Colliery by Anglo-Dutch developers, TCN UK.
The business was sold in 2015 to PGA professional, Frank Houlgate and now a planning application has been submitted to extend the offer and introduce a new par 3 course on the site.
Located between Manvers Lake and Old Moor Nature Reserve, the 64.5 hectare site already includes a nine hole golf course designed by Simon Gidman with 18 different tees measuring over 6,500 yards, one of the longest of its kind in the UK. The greens and tees throughout the course have been constructed to USPGA specification.
The golf course is located in the area where Manvers Main Colliery was located. Manvers Main was often reputed to be the biggest, dirtiest coal complex anywhere in Britain. At one time it had the largest washery in Britain treating coking, gas and industrial coal at the rate of 1,320 tons per hour.
Completely restored alongside the new boating lake after the mines closed in December 1988, the spoil tip and slurry lagoon was reclaimed and re-profiled for a golf course. A remaining section of land between the driving range and River Dearne has now been earmarked for development.
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The application, drawn up by Cromwell Wood Estate Company Limited, said that "the site is partly restored to a level for a golf course but was never completed as the previous owner concentrated on creating the golf course to the west and the club house.
"Now that demand for the facility has been assessed the proprietor wishes to utilise the remaining land to the east of the site, within the boundaries of the golf club to provide a short course for training and beginners but can be used with the 9 hole course if need be.
"The proprietor wishes to use this par 3 course to teach beginners from the local school and the community."
Eight short holes are planned with earthworks required to create elevated tee areas and wild grass dunes around the greens.
The proposal involves importing 25,000 cubic metres of recovered engineering material from the construction excavation sector to provide soils for the par 3 golf course.
50,000 tonnes of material is necessary to profile the course and cap off the colliery waste lagoons previously tipped.
As the site is now in the Green Belt, the applicants explain how the extension to existing golf course would not affect the openness of the site as the work would be carried out within woodland areas.
Frank Houlgate, owner of Waterfront Golf, said: "As a golf professional for the past 24 years I have seen numbers in golf decline, mainly due to golf facilities making it difficult for children to play. This needs to change and facilities like ours are perfect for that.
"I have taught thousands of kids through various projects and I am finally very close to being able to realise my ultimate goal of getting kids cheap, or even free, golf and tuition which I believe will give them huge benefits."
Waterfront Golf website
Images: Waterfront Golf
The popular nine hole golf course opened in 2008 and also includes a 32 bay floodlit golf driving range, practice facilities, simulator, club house and retail space. It is a major part of the Manvers Waterfront development, the 285-acre mixed-use regeneration of the former Manvers Colliery by Anglo-Dutch developers, TCN UK.
The business was sold in 2015 to PGA professional, Frank Houlgate and now a planning application has been submitted to extend the offer and introduce a new par 3 course on the site.
Located between Manvers Lake and Old Moor Nature Reserve, the 64.5 hectare site already includes a nine hole golf course designed by Simon Gidman with 18 different tees measuring over 6,500 yards, one of the longest of its kind in the UK. The greens and tees throughout the course have been constructed to USPGA specification.
The golf course is located in the area where Manvers Main Colliery was located. Manvers Main was often reputed to be the biggest, dirtiest coal complex anywhere in Britain. At one time it had the largest washery in Britain treating coking, gas and industrial coal at the rate of 1,320 tons per hour.
Completely restored alongside the new boating lake after the mines closed in December 1988, the spoil tip and slurry lagoon was reclaimed and re-profiled for a golf course. A remaining section of land between the driving range and River Dearne has now been earmarked for development.
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The application, drawn up by Cromwell Wood Estate Company Limited, said that "the site is partly restored to a level for a golf course but was never completed as the previous owner concentrated on creating the golf course to the west and the club house.
"Now that demand for the facility has been assessed the proprietor wishes to utilise the remaining land to the east of the site, within the boundaries of the golf club to provide a short course for training and beginners but can be used with the 9 hole course if need be.
"The proprietor wishes to use this par 3 course to teach beginners from the local school and the community."
Eight short holes are planned with earthworks required to create elevated tee areas and wild grass dunes around the greens.
The proposal involves importing 25,000 cubic metres of recovered engineering material from the construction excavation sector to provide soils for the par 3 golf course.
50,000 tonnes of material is necessary to profile the course and cap off the colliery waste lagoons previously tipped.
As the site is now in the Green Belt, the applicants explain how the extension to existing golf course would not affect the openness of the site as the work would be carried out within woodland areas.
Frank Houlgate, owner of Waterfront Golf, said: "As a golf professional for the past 24 years I have seen numbers in golf decline, mainly due to golf facilities making it difficult for children to play. This needs to change and facilities like ours are perfect for that.
"I have taught thousands of kids through various projects and I am finally very close to being able to realise my ultimate goal of getting kids cheap, or even free, golf and tuition which I believe will give them huge benefits."
Waterfront Golf website
Images: Waterfront Golf
1 comments:
The plans look great. Good luck!
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