Golf club in path of HS2 had new £7m club house bankrolled by Government
A golf club in Staffordshire that in is the path of HS2 had a new £7m club house bankrolled by the Government after sacrificing £400,000 of land, i can reveal.
Whittington Heath Golf Club near Lichfield, which was founded in 1886 and is believed to be one of the oldest in England, faced potential closure in 2014 after plans were announced for the HS2 rail line, which would run directly through the course.
The construction of the high speed rail route through the course meant that five of the 18 holes would be lost and the club house demolished.
But the club argued for compensation and managed to negotiate a deal with HS2 Limited, a body funded and sponsored by the Department for Transport, for a new club house and a redesign to incorporate five new holes. HS2 Limited agreed to bear the costs of the work.
Whittington Heath Golf Club had escalated the issue to Parliament, bringing a petition against HS2 from lawyers after it was notified of plans for compulsory purchase orders at the site.
i analysis of publicly available financial records show that HS2 Limited spent £7,685,000 on building the new club house, making it one of the most expensive pieces of compensation along the entire route. The accounts show that the club house was valued at the amount it cost HS2 to build.
According to the financial accounts, Whittington Heath Golf Club sacrificed £400,000 worth of land in exchange for the new club house as part of the deal.
According to separate Government invoice data, £800,000 was spent on Whittington Heath Golf Club from 2018 onwards. It is unclear whether this money was part of the club house settlement, the agreement to redesign and build five new holes, or something else.
Whittington Heath Golf Club was initially founded as an army barracks club in 1886, after a colonel suggested a golf course would improve morale. It currently has about 600 members, and receives about £700,000 in membership fees a year, according to its latest financial record.
It hosts national golf tournaments including the army’s annual golf championships.
The club, near Lichfield, north of Birmingham, marks one of the most northerly points on the remaining HS2 Phase 1 route from London to the West Midlands.
Money spent on the high speed rail project has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after Rishi Sunak cancelled the second leg of the project due to “enormous” costs.
One official is reported to have told The Times that HS2 bosses acted “like kids with the golden credit card” as £280m was spent on consultants.
According to parliamentary evidence published in 2018, at least four other golf courses were affected by Phase 1 of HS2 and duly received compensation.
Experts said the cost of compensation for Whittington Heath Golf Club was “distorted” by the club house work required but it is likely that HS2 Limited has also paid more than £10m other golf courses in compensation.
Whittington Heath Golf Club declined to comment.
The Department for Transport said it could not comment on ongoing commercial matters.
A HS2 spokesperson said they could not comment on an “ongoing compensation claim”.
