Golfers getting new club thanks to HS2

A Staffordshire golf club which will be cut in half by HS2 is to be compensated with a new state-of-the-art course.

Plans for the £43 billion high-speed route show that Ingestre Park Golf Club would lose seven of its 18 holes – with the line passing within 100 metres of the clubhouse.

But members could have the option of a new course and clubhouse a mile away – with expected compensation from HS2.

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A spokesman for HS2 said it was still in discussions with the club over compensation. The golf course has been in its current location since 1974 and would lose 13 of its 128 acres but with the railway dissecting it's middle, it would effectively ruin the course.

Members who were meeting last night were left with two options – buying adjoining land to add to what is left of the course, or purchase a new piece of land and start from scratch.

Gareth Morgan, who has project-managed golf courses across Europe, joined Ingestre two weeks before the HS2 plans were announced, and stepped forward to deal with the funding and management of the situation.

He said he believe that a new course and clubhouse would cost HS2 about £3.5 million in compensation.

"At the moment, all you hear is church bells on a Sunday morning and the birds singing.," he added.

"With a train going by at over 200 miles an hour, it will destroy the rural pleasures of playing golf at Ingestre. HS2 is essentially going to destroy the golf club.

"The compensation we receive is governed by the Compulsory Purchase Act, which leaves the affected person in the same position after as they were before," he added.

"HS2 will assist the club in finding a different plot of land. They will pay the costs of obtaining planning, of designing, and building a brand new club and clubhouse."

The location of the new site will remain confidential following a request from the landowner.

The current club and course were built in the 70s and the new one will be more reliable and much more efficient for modern golf. Mr Morgan does not expect the club to move into its new home much before 2023 to 2025.

Mr Morgan added: "Ingestre Golf Club will come out of HS2 better and stronger and able to face the future. The members have absolutely nothing to fear whatsoever."

HS2 spokesperson Alastair Cowan said: "The route is part of phase 2a, which runs from Birmingham up to Crewe. It is planned to open in 2027, one year after the main London to Birmingham section of the route. We are still in discussion with the golf club about a suitable compensation package. No deal yet."