UPMARKET Formby Hall Golf Club is to take over the municipal golf course in Kirkby in a 25-year deal, Liverpool City Council has announced.
And Allerton Golf Course is set to be run on a similar “lease” by a new offshoot of environmental firm Glendale. The council says it secures the future of pay-as-you-go golf in Liverpool.
The plan is to be discussed on Friday January 10 at a meeting of the Mayor’s Cabinet.
Assistant Mayor and culture supremo Cllr Wendy Simon will be recommending the city council enter into the arrangement for Kirkby with Formby Hall Golf Club plc, the golf and spa resort operators, and Glendale Golf Limited for Allerton.
Subsidy
The new deal will wipe out an overspend and subsidy estimated to total £339,000 this financial year alone – saving the city around £1.7m over the next five years, it claims.
Council finance bosses have been teed off by the subsidy for every round of municipal golf played. On average, over the last five years, the council has subsidised every round of golf played to the tune of £5 – almost 400,000 rounds in those five years for wannabe Tiger Woods. In the 2012-13 financial year, the subsidy was £7.27 for every round played. 
Allerton Golf Course
Formby Hall will initially pay £5,000 a year rent for the Kirkby course, rising by £5,000 a year to £25,000 a year by 2019, and then rises linked to inflation.
Glendale will pay a rent of £60,000 a year, rising by inflation each April.
The new custodians of the courses have been told they must continue to provide affordable and accessible “pay and play” golf.
They will also be encouraged to invest in the courses through upgrades and appropriate additional facilities to attract customers.
Cllr Simon, said: “This is a really good deal for the city council. It will not just save money, but will also secure the future of two long standing sports facilities.
'Affordable'
“We can no longer afford to subsidise the courses to the tune of almost £5 per round, but we know how much they are appreciated by the people who use them. That is why we have worked extremely hard over the last few months to put together a deal that satisfies everyone.
“This proposal will make sure that they continue to operate at a price that is affordable to users and receive investment to make them sustainable in the long term.”
For legal reasons surrounding the new arrangement the council will be legally required to advertise the initiative as a disposal of a facility. However the site will retain the same use and remain in the ownership of the council.
The new operators will take over the courses by April.
