A former world champion boxer has called on a council to “think of the people” ahead of potential plans to build hundreds of homes on a much-loved golf course in Mapperley
Nottingham boxing legend Carl Froch, who held the WBC super-middleweight title twice, has publicly joined the fight to protect Mapperley Golf Club from being used to hit council housing targets.
The club’s future has been left threatened, with the site back under Gedling Borough Council’s spotlight to potentially be used for up to 750 homes.
The authority is currently consulting on its draft local development plan, which has identified key areas and bits of green space across the borough that could be used to allocate an extra 6,045 homes by 2043 to ensure housing targets are met.
Parts of Gedling’s swathes of countryside have been put forward, along with the edges of villages such as Calverton and Ravenshead, but one spot contained in Nottingham’s urban sprawl is the 127-year-old, 18-hole golf club.
The outcry to protect the “jewel in the crown” golf club has been building momentum in recent months, with the club’s chairman, Paul Cookson, saying back in May he intended to “fight the good fight” in getting the council to remove the site from housing plans.
Mr Froch has taken to Facebook in June and July to help raise awareness in the club’s campaign, posting on July 4 that he had played a round of golf at the course the day before and linking the website where residents can learn how to submit their objections in the ongoing consultation.
Speaking on Tuesday (July 7), Mr Froch said: “There’s too many houses in one area, there’s an overkill.
“The amount of planning I’ve had refused for a potential single dwelling out of the way, now all of a sudden [the council] can [potentially] demolish the whole golf course, and fit their agenda and their plans.”
The former boxer says he “urges” people to visit the site, noting the wildlife and trees at the spot, saying: “You walk out the urban jungle and straight away into the countryside – it’s beautiful, phenomenal.”
While also acknowledging the council’s recent decision to close the Richard Herrod Centre in Carlton to make way for a new leisure centre – effectively displacing the long-standing Gedling Indoor Bowls Club – Mr Froch asked: “Why are the leisure and recreational facilities under attack? Where people go and communicate and create a community and enjoy themselves and breathe the fresh outdoors.”
He continued: “Health benefits from sports – it’s so positive and encourages regular exercise. Golf improves walking, balance, and cardiovascular fitness. Indoor bowls helps with mobility, coordination, flexibility, especially for older adults.
“Their mental wellbeing, help reduce stress, improve mental health, give people a routine, a purpose, especially older people. Trying to get rid of all of this and build some more houses?… [Older people] might not have the facilities and capabilities of going to another golf club.”
Mr Froch told the LDRS he wants the council to “think of the people” when concluding its consultation on its draft local development plan.
He said: “Think of the people, what do the people want? The people you’re supposed to serve, the people that pay their council tax, pay their taxes and have lived there for many years, generations a lot of them – think about them and what they’re going to do when they lose this golf course.
“Once it’s gone, it will never return, so have a think about that, the impact you’re having on the environment and the people, especially the elderly.”
Back in June, Gedling Borough Conservative councillor, Sam Smith, told the LDRS the potential “erosion” of the golf course was “the saddest” part of the authority’s proposed housing allocations.
He said: “It’s the only golf course this side of Calverton. It’s the jewel in Gedling’s crown.
“It brings in spending to Gedling borough. Others stop off for lunch, have breakfast, it’s a great venue for community events, birthdays. To build on that is a disgrace, and it will absolutely increase flooding.
“The council talk about wellbeing and lifestyle choices. They have already closed Gedling Indoor Bowls Club’s site, now it’s the golf club – what it does for senior residents’ and mental health and wellbeing is amazing.”
In May, the ‘thriving’ club’s membership stood at nearly 500 members, where around 50 of them joined within the last year. Non-member footfall also increased by around 20 per cent in 2025 on the previous year.
This is not the first time the golf course has been threatened with development. The council allocated the area for up to 1,900 homes until 2011, but this fell through.
A 4,000-person strong campaign opposing the development followed and planning officials decided it would be too expensive to build there in the end.
Speaking on the land being back under the spotlight, Mr Froch said: “This should not be happening – nobody will ever convince me that they need to destroy a golf club on Mapperley, which is totally full of hills and banks… to build out on that place, that’s going to be a nightmare.”
A council spokesperson previously said in a statement: “[The council] will allow a period of public consultation in respect of all the policies and allocations proposed, including Mapperley Golf Course.
“The Plan proposes a spatial strategy based on a settlement hierarchy with the proposed site allocations being in accordance with this. As much housing as is feasible is proposed to be located within and adjoining the main built up area of Nottingham.”
The council’s six-week consultation on its housing allocation plans closes on August 3.
