Plans for hundreds more homes on a Nottinghamshire golf course could spark “real anger” in the community, with club officials claiming the council has “bitten off more than they can chew” over the controversial scheme.
The chair of Mapperley Golf Club spoke out as later this week Gedling Borough Council’s cabinet is set to decide on its updated ‘draft’ local development plan.
This outlines which areas in the borough could be allocated for several thousand new homes between 2028 and 2043.
Key bits of green space, including some edges of the borough’s swathes of countryside, have been included, which may see more rural areas become developed and smaller villages expand.
One particular bit of land is Mapperley Golf Club which could be earmarked for hundreds of new homes in future.
The authority – which owns the land – is pushing forward with its plans for the site off Plains Road and Central Avenue to potentially be used for up to 750 houses.
The 18-hole club has existed for more than 120 years and its membership has been growing in the last year.
Paul Cookson, 57, Mapperley Golf Club chairman, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he is “100 per cent confident” the club will still be there in 10 years.
He said: “We’ve been expecting this, however I think [the council] has bitten off more than they can chew because of the covenant of land, the problems of the land – the shape of it is not conducive of a housing estate.
“Even though it’s in the [council’s] plan, I’m 100 per cent confident the golf club will still be here in 10 years time because there’s so many legal things to go through to enforce termination of the lease.”
Mr Cookson says the club is “thriving”, with it being in the “best condition it’s ever been in”, and said the memberships are increasing year on year.
The club currently boasts nearly 500 members, with around 50 joining in the last year. Non-member footfall also increased by around 20 per cent in 2025 on the previous year.
Mr Cookson continued: “To remove a well-used community resource like that – they’ve already done the same with [Gedling Indoor] bowling club, they’re just removing all community-based activities.
“It’s been 127 years we’ve managed that land, gifted from different areas in Gedling for the purpose of recreation – they seem to have the god-given right to put 750 houses on and not a thought to the community.
“I intend to fight the good fight and not just roll over.”
Callum Fern, 32, has been the Head Professional at the club for around a year-and-a-half. He said the potential plans for the land are “awful”.
He said: “When I came in, a couple of things they wanted from me was to try increase female and junior participation – we’ve had loads of initiatives to help women get into golf and kids get into golf.
“I think it’s awful really. It already seems very overpopulated in this area. I talk to members that have lived here for a long while… I hear that it’s a struggle to get into schools and doctors.
“It’s not just golfers. We’re trying to be a bit more of a community hub really, a place to come for breakfast, sit in the sun, have a pint with a family member.
“It’s more than just golf for a lot of people, it’s for their physical and mental health, a friendship hub, a community hub. It might be the only time they see people all week.”
Mr Fern said the feelings from the staff over the vulnerable future of the club have turned “more positive” compared to a year ago, where they have been doing their own research on what is in place to protect the land.
Anton Robinson was first a member in 2014 for a few years but rejoined again in 2022. He called the club his “happy place”.
He said: “For a lot of members it’s their life… there’s a lot of retired members, it’s where they come, meet people, get their exercise. There’s people in their 80s playing out there – you take that away from them, where do they go?
“It’s my happy place, I come up here as much as I possibly can… I’ve made really good friends here, I’ve still got really good friends here who I play with every week – it’s where I go to feel good and forget about working life or what the council’s doing.
“It wouldn’t be disappointment, it would be a real anger that this place has been taken away from us.
“You can argue it’s a small number of people playing golf but it’s the wider community, the wildlife, the green space – I think it would be an act of vandalism to take this away because it’s not like you can undo it.”
The golf course was previously threatened by plans to build on it more than a decade ago, with the authority planning to allocate the area for up to 1,900 homes up until 2011.
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.
A council spokesperson said: “The report in respect of the Consultation on the Publication Draft Gedling Local Development Plan will be considered by Cabinet on May 21 and, if approved by cabinet and then 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.”
