Popular golf course for sale – but plans labelled ‘unacceptable’

A formerly renowned golf course that is up for sale in England has been told its renovation plans are “unacceptable.”

Merrist Wood Golf Club, based in the Surrey countryside, is currently home to an 18-hole golf course, practice facilities and a purpose-built clubhouse.

But as it stands, only nine holes have been open since August 2023, with the owners seeking planning permission to recontour the site as well upgrade and re-open their championship course.

The problem is, however, that these “ambitious and large-scale” proposals promising a “world-class” facility at Merrist Wood have been condemned by a Surrey County Council Report.

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Merrist Wood first applied for planning permission to re-model its layout back in 2023, but councillors have since rejected the plans because they are “unacceptable in the context of its location.”

The club has wanted to build a new lake to facilitate the rainwater for irrigation purposes. It has been a course which has regularly flooded so the owners wanted the typically waterlogged holes rewilded in a new modern design.

In doing so, Merrist Wood has hoped to attract more players to the venue, which currently costs just £10 to play for the nine holes.

However, the plans have received 107 objections, according to the Surrey County Council, with many holding environmental concerns.

The report states that the proposal is lacking detail on the impact of  construction traffic on the nearby roads and on the course’s drainage strategy.

There were also biodiversity concerns as well as the suggestion that the plans would disrupt the county’s waste management plan by diverting too much waste material from local recycling sites.

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Despite Merrist Wood’s ongoing struggle to renovate, it is still listed for buyers who might either want to attempt a renovation or to transform the golf course into something new completely.

Kay Griffiths, a director in leisure and trade related team at Savills, said: “Merrist Wood Golf Course is a substantial landholding in a prime Surrey location with potential to be re-launched as a mature 18-hole golf course or alternatively put to a variety of alternative uses, subject to obtaining the required planning permission.

“We anticipate substantial interest from a diverse range of potential buyers as opportunities of this nature rarely arise in such an attractive location.”

The course is listed at a guide price of £2.25 million.