PEOPLE whistled and cheered as Wirral Council continued to support a bid to reopen a community golf course.

Brackenwood Golf Course in Bebington, was closed in 2022 after sweeping budget cuts by Wirral Council but there was hope it would reopen after a bid was put forward by Brackenwood Community Golf Limited (BCGL) to take it over. This got final approval from councillors in July 2023 to tears and applause.

However, in March 2024, the council said the transfer would not be going ahead to BCGL because RM Estates, who had been supporting  Brackenwood Golf Club with a rental guarantee, had pulled out and put forward a different proposal.

A council report published ahead of the committee meeting suggested councillors keep the land but “maximise its use for grass playing pitches for a variety of sports” as well as improve natural habitats and biodiversity. There would be plans to improve community access as well as future allotments on part of the site.

However, councillors almost unanimously voted to keep supporting the golf club in its bid to take the course over. It said it is now being supported by LinkGolf which runs a number of previously council-run courses putting forward the same plans as those previously approved by councillors.

After nearly an hour of talks with council officers and the golf club, Labour put forward a proposal which would see the council only move forward with the golf club and LinkGolf proposal with a number of conditions added due to the “exceptional circumstances.” Labour deputy leader Cllr Jean Robinson said it was sad things hadn’t moved ahead but argued her proposal would see things move a lot quicker with an October 31 deadline.

A proposal had been put forward by the Greens to reopen the entire process but this was voted down by the other parties. Every councillor except one Green councillor Jo Bird, who abstained, voted for the winning recommendation.

Golf club secretary Keith Marsh said they now hope the golf course will be back up and running by 2025, adding: “We’re feeling really positive now. We’re overjoyed they’ve stuck by their word the councillors. They’ve stuck by their communities and as I said in the meeting, they have shown faith in politics can exist. We just need to get it done now.” During the meeting, he said several members of the club had passed away and would never see the course reopen.

During the meeting, Conservative councillor Ian Lewis suggested the reason why the issue had been “long, drawn out and torturous” was due to a lack of enough back office staff to support the bid. He felt there were lessons to be learned on the council’s side too, adding: “If we were to pull the legs out from under Brackenwood now, that will not sit well. That will send out the wrong message to the wider community.”

Green councillor Jo Bird said the site with its 100 acres had enough room for pitches, biodiversity net gain, and golf, adding: “It’s only fair that we do what we say we do.” Liberal Democrat Cllr Phil Gilchrist said: “It would be entirely wrong to pause the process and go nowhere. We should pick up where we are now and make the best of it.”

Councillors also approved new enforcement and health and safety policies as well as a review of both of its town halls.