New road may close airport golf course
South Auckland players set to lose again.
ASouth Auckland golf course may have to close after Auckland Airport, which owns the land, declined to renew the lease it has held for decades, to make way for a new road.
At least three other golf courses in the area have closed, relocated or downsized in the past few years as more land is sold for development or infrastructure.
Aviation Country Club has operated at its Uenuku Way site for about 40 years. But its future there is now uncertain, after the airport told the club last month it wouldn’t renew its lease when it expires on October 31.
Instead, the airport will construct a bypass between State Highway 20A and State Highway 20B on the site and upgrade the adjacent Nixon Rd to alleviate congestion on other roads near the airport.
Although Aviation Country Club management had been aware of the airport’s plans to change the road layout in the area for some time, they were surprised when the lease renewal was declined, club operations manager David Campbell said.
“We had talks with the airport late last year and were certainly under the impression we would probably get a renewal of some sort with our lease.
“Originally they said they wanted to put us on a month-to-month lease after the October 31 and we obviously advised that wasn’t very good for a golf course — we couldn’t plan.”
The lease expired at the same time as memberships, so club members would still get a full year’s use out of the club. However, Aviation’s potential closure would make golf less accessible to South Aucklanders in future, Campbell said.
Nearby Manukau Golf Course, now operating as Windross Farm, relocated to Ardmore after the land it was on was sold to Metlife in 2015. Papakura Golf Club closed in 2011. The Grange Golf Club in Papatoetoe has merged with Royal Auckland Golf Club, near Middlemore Hospital.
The new merged club will operate on both courses, but some of the land at the Royal Auckland site has been sold to Mansons for development.
If Aviation Country Club was to close, the nearest golf course to the airport would be the merged Royal Auckland and The Grange club on Hospital Rd, 11km away.
Although the club was yet to rule out moving, Campbell said that would likely be too expensive. Instead, it would propose to redesign its premises on the section of the site that wouldn’t be affected by the road.
“The road only goes through a part of our golf course so there’s quite a large parcel of land left which is currently the golf course,” Campbell said.
Auckland Airport spokeswoman Lisa Mulitalo said the parties had a “strong relationship” and the airport would look at Aviation Country Club’s redesign proposal.
“The club has known for some time that we would need to take back part of the course for roading to support traffic flow through the airport precinct and we have been in discussions about this with them over recent months as the club approached the end of its lease.”
New Zealand Golf club capability manager Carl Fenton said if the closure went ahead, it would have a “significant impact” on South Aucklanders’ access to golfing facilities.
“We are understanding of the competing priorities for land use within Auckland and believe golf activity can add value to Auckland International Airport’s current offering and future direction.
“Many of the world’s premier airports have a golf footprint and NZ Golf believe a golfing footprint will assist Auckland International Airport to deliver a uniquely New Zealand experience, as well as adding value to its surrounding community.”
NZ Golf was working with the airport, Auckland Golf and Aviation Country Club to ensure there was a golf presence near the airport.
We were certainly under the impression we would probably get a renewal. David Campbell, club operations manager