A HISTORIC 18-hole English golf course is set to be demolished after 132 years.
The site will now see the construction of ten homes as approved by the council.
The Redhill and Reigate golf club and course is set to be demolished after the council approved new housing plans for the site Credit: IAN CAPPER
The golf course is one of Surrey’s longest-standing greens, first opening in 1887 Credit: Jordi Salas
One of oldest courses is set to be demolished after it was announced that a new development proposal had been approved by the council.
The Redhill and Reigate Golf Club will now see ten new homes built on the site after plans were approved by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council this month.
First opened in 1887, the golf club was one of Surrey’s longest standing greens, only behind the Guildford Golf Club in Merrow Downs, which opened a year prior in 1886.
At the time of opening, the site was home to a nine-hole course, but soon expanded to a larger 18-hole layout.
Although plans for the demolition have just been approved, the golf course has not been operational for the past seven years, having in 2019 due to financial difficulties.
When it was operating, the club housed two courses that offered golfers the opportunity to play on either parkland or heathland courses.
The club had originally run on member ownership, but was sold to private owners in 2013 after 126 years.
The clubhouse continued to stay open, being used for event hire, until it shut its doors in 2022.
Speaking about the closure back in 2019, then-club chairman, Tony Hallett, said the club had appreciated the council’s support to keep the club open in “adverse trading conditions”.
He continued: “Sadly, the club is no longer financially viable and the time has come to accept our combined efforts have been in vain and the Club must close.
“Relations between the club and the council remain very positive and it is to be hoped they ultimately succeed in finding a long term solution that will enable golf to return to the site.”
At the time of the original closure, it was reported that the council would continue the upkeep of the site as common land, rather than a golf course as it would have been too costly.
The original intention of the council was “to keep the site as a golf course for community use in future”, as revealed by the council’s executive member for neighbourhood services Cllr Alex Horwood, and that they were “investigating options and potential operators to allow this to happen”.
It has now been confirmed that the site will not return to its former operation as a golf course and will instead become a new site.
Plans for a housing development for the site were first submitted in March 2022 but were originally refused by the council.
The plans were later approved following an appeal, however this application never went any further than planning stages.
In January of this year, a new planning application based of the previous proposal was submitted by developers Aquinna Homes and approved by Reigate & Banstead Borough council in May 2026.
Under the approved proposal, the golf course will be demolished and 10 homes will be built, complete with parking and gardens.
The plan includes the construction of six detached four-bedroom homes, two semi-detached three-bedroom homes and two semi-detached two- bedroom homes.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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