The scheme is expected to bring Richmond Park's 36 hole golf course facilities up to date, as well as encouraging younger players into the sport with a new golf academy course.
It is not just golfers who will benefit from this ambitious project in a Royal Park; residents and park users will also benefit from the development.
Glendale Golf, who are building the clubhouse with The Royal Parks, first took on the lease for Richmond Park Golf Course in October 2004. The design and development of a new clubhouse was a key element of the initial agreement between Glendale Golf and The Royal Parks.
The clubhouse, which is moving from Roehampton Gate to Chohole Gate on the south east corner of the course, has been designed by architects at William Saunders who have a long standing history of clubhouse development with Glendale Golf. In 2007 they successfully designed the clubhouse and restaurant facilities at Glendale Golf's Duxbury Park Golf Course, in Lancashire.
The development of the new clubhouse will take place alongside course improvements including:
- Seven new greens
- Eight new tees
- A new driving range
- A new, accessible golf academy providing fresh challenges for players of all abilities
The course improvements are designed to provide experienced golfers with an enjoyable yet challenging game in the stunning and historic surroundings of a Royal Park. The new academy course is designed to increase the confidence of newer players while introducing them to the simple joy of escaping into a good game of golf.
Richmond Park Golf Course will be introducing an outreach programme as part of the new academy course development. The programme includes a series of coaching sessions in local schools and a 'Tiger-Day' with Richmond Park's golf pros during the summer holidays to assess the skills the children have learned. The Richmond Park Golf team will offer their coaching sessions and new facilities to those who want to take the game further.
Park users and local residents will also benefit from the improvements plan. At the request of local residents, a new footpath running from Chohole Gate behind the new clubhouse and into the park near Robin Hood Gate via a footbridge at Beverley Brook, will be created. A new pond will also be created on the course.
Brian Lafferty, Course Manager said:
"The new clubhouse will provide a nicer, more welcoming environment for our golfers to spend their time. The new course features will appeal to existing players and attract new players who want to take up the game."
The clubhouse and course will be sustainably built using the very latest green technologies including a water source heat pump allowing the building to generate its own energy which will heat the building in the winter. The building will be constructed using the BREEAM sustainable buildings scheme and will use sustainable energy sources. The roof of the clubhouse will be made of acid grass taken from the course itself, allowing the gently sloping building to blend into the rolling landscape. A wildlife pond will also be created in front of the clubhouse and an external terrace will enable visitors to appreciate the scenery in this stunning Royal Park. The surrounding course will help support the local ecology and promote the conservation in the adjacent park which is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, London's largest National Nature Reserve and a European Special Area of Conservation.
Mark Oliver, Glendale Golf Project Manager explains:
"Disruption will be minimised during the construction phase but will be dependent on the work being undertaken. A traffic plan has been developed to minimise disruption for local residents.The contractor undertaking the course improvements is one of the UK's most experienced companies specialising in golf course improvements work."
From July, there will be anopportunity for residents, golfers and all park visitors to find out what the course improvements mean for Richmond Park via a special website that will keep them informed. The site can be found at www.glendale-golf.com/improvements.
Josie Bennett, Sales and Marketing Manager for Glendale Managed Services, explains:
"We have put this strategy in place to ensure that players, local residents and visitors to the Royal Park are aware of progress and have the opportunity to ask any questions they may have about the project."
Brian Lafferty comments:
"We hope that everyone will join us in anticipating the finished product."
The basic improvement works and the clubhouse developments are due to be completed in time for the new golfing year in 2013.
Simon Betts, Director of Royal Parks Estates, said:
"It will be fantastic to have a first class pay-and-play facility in Richmond Park for golfers of all ages and abilities.
"The new golf academy course will attract young players into the sport in the stunning surroundings of London's largest Royal Park."
Andrew Holt, Chief Executive of Parkwood Holdings plc comments:
"The development of the new Richmond Park Golf Clubhouse is a very important project for the Parkwood Group. We are confident that the excellent facilities that will be present within the clubhouse will attract many new golf members and daily visitors, contributing to the future success of the park".
Notes to Editors
- Glendale Golf Ltd is a division of Glendale Managed Services (www.glendale-services.co.uk), a Parkwood Holdings company (www.parkwood-holdings.co.uk).
- Glendale Golf's Improvements website will be live in June 2012.
- Glendale is committed to green thinking, and undertakes a number of services across the UK, operated from its head office in Chorley, Lancashire. The company also provides grounds maintenance, tree services, countryside management, landscaping, recycling and has its own in house nursery Coblands.
- For press comment from Glendale, please contact Josie Bennett Sales and Marketing Manager, josie.bennett@glendale-services.co.uk or 01392 441090
About Richmond Park and The Royal Parks
Every year millions of Londoners and tourists visit Richmond Park, the largest of the capital's eight Royal Parks and the biggest enclosed space in London. The Park is a National Nature Reserve, London's largest Site of Special Scientific Interest and a European Special Area of Conservation. It is home to the beautiful Isabella Plantation, Pembroke Lodge and herds of Red and Fallow deer.
This summer Richmond Park will play a role in the London 2012 Games with the Olympic road race cycling route passing through the park.
The Royal Parks are: Bushy Park, The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, Richmond Park and St James's Park. The Royal Parks also manages Victoria Tower Gardens, Brompton Cemetery, Grosvenor Square Gardens and the gardens of 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street.
For further information please visit: www.royalparks.org.uk
For media enquiries contact: 0300 061 2128 or press@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk
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