WORK will begin this summer on a multi-million pound residential golf academy in Formby after a two-year wait for planning technicalities to be passed.
Maghull Developments, part of Liverpool-based The Maghull Group, has been granted detailed planning approval to develop a new PGA National Golf Academy and 60-bed residency at Formby Hall Golf Club, on Southport Old Road.
Although the new academy will be built on Green Belt protected land, planners decided that the possible spin-off benefits could outweigh the negatives. This includes people linking trips to attractions at Southport, Formby, and elsewhere in Merseyside and Lancashire.
The new academy will also create jobs. It is envisaged that 47 new staff would be employed from the local area.
Now plans have been agreed by Sefton planners, work can begin on building the academy, which is intended to make Formby Hall Golf Club the headquarters for the development of golf for people of all ages, races, nationalities, and religions.
The PGA Golf Academy will be the first of its kind in the UK, and will be a National Centre of Excellence for Amateur Golf Training. It will be affiliated with Formby Hall Golf Club, and operate alongside the existing club facilities.
The development will comprise a new nine-hole academy course, health and fitness facilities with pool and spa, sports injury rehabilitation facilities, and offices to accommodate the PGA’s new Northern Office.
Formby Hall Golf Club was considered to satisfy all of the PGA’s stringent requirements for plans to move forward. This was due to the existing first-class club facilities and the club’s strategic location, benefiting from excellent road, rail and airport links.
The club’s close proximity to the world-famous Links Courses - including Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool, Hillside, Formby, and Southport and Ainsdale - also played a part in the consultation.
Michael Hanlon, managing director of Maghull Developments, explained: “We are delighted to be working with both the PGA and Formby Hall Golf Club on this unique and exciting golf project, which we believe will affirm the borough of Sefton to be the ‘Golf Capital of the UK’. “
We have been liaising with the director of planning and the chief executive of Sefton Council in respect of a National Golf Academy for the last five years, and without their continued support and vision it is highly unlikely this project would be delivered in the North West.”
Mark Rabone, director of golf at Formby Hall Golf Club, commented: “This is a real coup for us to be a significant part of the PGA’s initiatives to develop the game within the UK.
“We are delighted Maghull Developments has decided to support us in this unique facility. It is a fantastic opportunity for both Formby Hall Golf Club and the whole of the North West region, and our aim will be to provide a facility which develops the budding talent that already exists within the UK, and also nurture that talent to produce the golfing stars of tomorrow.”
Construction work is due to start in the summer, and it is hoped to be complete by autumn, 2006.
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