Shrewsbury pitch & putt course to be marketed at hotel developers

Shropshire Council has confirmed that Meole Brace Pitch & Putt, a 3.95 acre site that sits beside the main golf course, will now be sold.

Last week the Shropshire Star revealed that councillors had taken a decision to back the sale of the site in a behind closed doors meeting on Thursday.

The sale was initially approved at a meeting of the council’s cabinet in March, however the full council is required to vote on any policies involving transactions of more than £1 million.

The site will now be marketed by property agents Colliers.

A spokesman for the authority said the land is expected to be "of interest to hotels and leisure companies, drive-through food outlets, food and drink operators, or for extra-care housing and health facilities – or a mix of these".

Under the agreement £50,000 raised from its sale will go to the neighbouring Meole Brace Golf Course.

The council said it expects the money to be used for additional practice facilities.

One complication remains in the sale with the site having been registered as an asset of community value.

It means that now the council has agreed to sell the site it must give the Friends of Meole Brace Golf Club six weeks to decide if it wishes to make a bid for the course.

If the group decides it wishes to bid then it will have six months to come up with the money – although the council can still sell to the highest bidder.

The council has said that Colliers will invite proposals from operators and developers and – subject to the outcome of the community right to bid process – will report back to the authority towards the end of the year, when a successful bidder is due to be chosen.

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for assets, said: "The future of the pitch and putt site was reviewed last year after figures showed that usage of the facility had declined from a peak of 2,590 visits in 2011 to below 1,600 last year.

"The decision to sell the pitch and putt course was taken following a public consultation in late 2016, which looked at a number of possible options for the site. We also sought the views of key stakeholders including Sport England, relevant national associations, Shrewsbury Town Council, Bannatyne’s, local residents’ associations and the current course operator.

"The sale of the site will clearly generate a significant capital receipt for the council, which we will reinvest in the golf course and in our regeneration plans for Shropshire."

The Pitch & Putt course will continue to operate as normal until building work begins on site.

Meole Brace Golf Course is not affected by these plans and will continue to open and operate as normal.