Housing firm tees up golf club bid
A HOUSING company has confirmed its interest in buying a golf club.
It is understood a fee of around £10m has been discussed for the 100 acre Swinton Park Golf Club.
Last year, the M.E.N. reported that owners of the club voted ‘in favour of pursuing’ a £30m offer to buy the course from Bellway Homes, subject to planning permission.
That deal did not materialise and now the board of directors at the club have switched to a different company.
Investors have been sent an email from the directors.
Seen by the M.E.N., it reads: “The Board of Directors wishes to inform you that Swinton Park Golf and Country Club 207 Limited has granted an option to buy the club to a subsidiary of
Your Housing Group Limited (YHG). The option entitles YHG to acquire the club unconditionally. In the meantime the directors intend to continue to operate the golf club.”
The subsidiary linked to a possible deal is NUVU. It provides homes available for rent and shared ownership.
Now in a statement to the M.E.N., Brian Cronin, chief executive of Your Housing Group, said: “Your Housing Group and NUVU would be proud to have the opportunity to work with such a unique development initiative that would make a positive impact on communities, families and local business.
“At this stage we cannot comment on the timescales or our position, but we will communicate widely if the process develops further.”
A meeting of campaign group Save Swinton Park Golf Club has been scheduled for 7pm today at St Luke’s Church Hall on Swinton Park Road.
A spokesman for the group said: “The campaign to save the golf club for current members and future generations - and Salford - will continue and now be stepped up.”
In November, Salford council gave extra protection to the club from developers. It was placed on a register as an Asset of Community Value. This status lasts for five years and if the club is put up for sale during this time, the community will be given first refusal and residents can enact a Community Right to Bid. But the decision to declare the golf course an asset was made after the current owners entered into an unconditional option to sell the land to Your Housing. The Swinton Park Golf and Country Club has been contacted for comment.