Mountain biking could replace golf
An underused Bath golf course that costs taxpayers £8 for every round played could be transformed into a mountain bike park.
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s cabinet was due to consider potential new options for the loss-making Entry Hill golf course when it met yesterday afternoon.
More than 1,000 golfers have signed a petition to save the ninehole course but in a consultation more than three-quarters of residents backed the creation of a family cycle centre and urban mountain bike park.
Turning the 30-acre former landfill into a public park was the second most popular option.
With usage declining to 10,000 rounds being played a year, Entry Hill ran an operating loss of £38,460 in 2018/19.
Additional costs including repairs, maintenance and a management fee to operator GLL mean the council is effectively subsidising the golf course to the tune of £80,000 a year - or £8 for every round played.
No other sport is backed in this way.
Club member Elizabeth Hallam told councillors in February that usage had declined because Entry Hill had been “starved and neglected”.
A cabinet report says the lockdown has had a significant impact on the council’s finances, making it more important than ever to ensure its leisure services are viable. The golf course is currently closed.
More than 3,200 people responded to a consultation on its future earlier this year.
Some 78 per cent said a family cycle centre or mountain bike park was the best use for the site, while 60 per cent backed turning it into a park with a cafe. Only 19 per cent said the golf course should be retained but run under a different management model.
The family cycle centre or mountain bike park scored highest against the council’s aims of tackling the climate emergency and getting people of all ages more active for the best price.
Other uses that need less space, like trails for walking, play spaces or a forest school, could run alongside the chosen option.
Councillor Paul Crossley, the cabinet member for community services, said: “Entry Hill is not only part of Bath’s World Heritage Site but is also important as a place where our communities can enjoy the outdoors and stay active.
“As noted in a survey by Sport England, usage of golf courses has sadly been in decline nationally for many years and that is certainly something we’ve seen at both our golfing sites.
“We acknowledge that the idea of changing Entry Hill to a different use is opposed by residents who still enjoy playing golf there, but that the consultation results also show strong opinions from thousands of members of the community who wish to use it differently.
“The cabinet will consider the options in the report very carefully to reach a decision that supports our aim to get more people more active more often, and to meet our carbonneutral and climate emergency goals.”
If approved by the cabinet, a procurement process that will only consider bids for sporting or community uses will begin in the autumn.
The council is also considering keeping the 18-hole pitch and putt facility at Approach in Royal Victoria Park but turning the 12-hole course over to sporting or community uses. Approach has more annual uses than Entry Hill but still runs at a loss.