Changing river course threatens rural golf club

The fence posts show the original line of the River Coquet

Members of a rural golf club say a river is reducing part of its course by 16ft (5m) each year.

The erosion is happening on a 328ft (100m) stretch of the River Coquet in Northumberland, which borders Rothbury Golf Club.

The club fears a new river route will be formed in as little as five years, which could cut off part of the course.

One of the club's directors, David Blakeburn, said: "It's an expensive problem with no easy solution."

"It all started about 10 years ago when we started getting more storms and more water coming down the river," Mr Blakeburn explained.

"A new gravel bank was formed, which is pushing water onto a sandy bank and each year the erosion seems to be speeding up."

This picture from 2019 shows how much of the fairway has already been lost

A meeting was held on-site in 2017 with the landowner, the Duke of Northumberland, and Natural England, which advises the government on the environment.

“We thought it would be easy enough to get a couple of diggers and move the gravel bank, but the costs and bureaucracy involved in solutions suggested by Natural England are way beyond the financial means of a club like ours," Mr Blakeburn said.

Concerns about the changing course of the river began a number of years ago

Natural England (NE) says the Coquet is a nationally important river, and designated a Site of Special Scientific Importance (SSSI).

In a statement, it added: "NE previously advised that although it would potentially be possible to move some of the gravel bar, this would only be a temporary fix.

"It advised that the best potential option was to develop a soft engineering solution with a low impact on the river and submit a Flood Risk Activity Permit to the Environment Agency (EA).

"NE is not aware that any such application for erosion control works was submitted by the club".

The club fears the old grandstand will eventually be completely cut off

Landowner Northumberland Estates said it was "sympathetic" to the club's problems, but added: "Given the river's dynamic nature and its designation as a SSSI, mitigation work would be complex with no guarantee of success.

"As far as we understand, the situation remains unchanged with the instruction not to interfere with the river's natural flow."

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