Brackenwood Golf Club welcome plans to reopen vandalised course

Brackenwood Golf Course closed in April due to council cuts

A golf course which was vandalised after it was shut down due to council cuts could be saved under new plans.

Brackenwood Golf Course in Bebington was closed in April after Wirral Council cut its funding and a rise in anti-social behaviour has since been recorded at the site.

Brackenwood Golf Club (BGC) secretary Keith Marsh said there had been "three expressions of interest" to reopen.

He said all three shared the idea of "an 'affordable golf for all' ethos".

The club, which had been in operation for 87 years, was closed on 1 April after Wirral Council voted to cut £20m from its budget.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the authority estimated the move would save about £328,000.

'Shared vision'

BGC members previously spoke of their fears the site "would go to wreck and ruin" before a new owner was found and since its closure, there have been complaints of "unprecedented levels" of anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

Mr Marsh said there had been "at least three expressions of interest" to run the course as a "community-based, not-for-profit leisure facility".

He said the operators "shared our vision" that the "green space should have an 'affordable golf for all' ethos".

He said speed of the progress was important to reduce acts of vandalism, anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.

A council committee meeting will discuss the future of the course on 16 June.

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