A different angle on our featured topic this winter brings us to the experience of Scraptoft Golf Club, Leicestershire.
Why were the Club and its members interested in exploring the approach from a local land developer who was interested in offering a new golf course development within 2-3 miles of the existing course?
That was the question that firstly the Trustees and then the club’s Management team asked themselves.
Scraptoft Golf Club have been living for nearly 100 years on borrowed time. Why? Because Leicester City Council owned 25% of the land that the course covered. This land has been leased to the club, with the knowledge over the past 20 years, that the City Council were determined to seek planning permission for housing on their leased and adjoining land.
An EGM was held in 2019, where over 70% of the members present voted in favour of exploring the once in a lifetime opportunity.
When the promotor approached the club, they confirmed that they had already agreed a comprehensive promotion agreement with the City Council and wanted to include our land to make the figures work. They proposed a new course development, including a driving range and a nine-hole par three academy at Houghton on the Hill, a few miles away. This land was primarily owned by them and had major road frontage.
The club’s management were also approached via one of its members, another landowner to see if an alternative choice would be more suitable. After careful consideration and discussions with Ken Moodie our appointed course designer, we decided to stay with the Houghton land.
The land covered 230 acres (the existing course is 100 acres with 25 acres owned by the City Council.) It would mean that the club would be the owner of the total area and could secure its future. More importantly, the new development would include, as well as a 7,000-yard championship course, the ability for the club to provide additional income from a purpose-built academy.
The whole journey hasn’t gone smoothly. There were significant delays caused by the impact of COVID and then asbestos was found on the non-leased City Council land. This asbestos was found to be spread over 40+ acres, which made the original proposal for Scraptoft North non-viable.
Despite these issues, the promoter and the city along with the long-suffering club have revisited the proposals and are now progressing a revised Scraptoft North. Throughout the spring and summer of 2025, surveys covering pond ecology, arboriculture, invasive plant species, badgers, bats, ground conditions and landscape have been carried out to ensure all data is updated.
We remain optimistic that the revised Scraptoft North plans will go ahead, and our club will relocate to the long-awaited new development at Houghton.
While the plans continue to develop, full time golfing on the current Scraptoft course pictured above, carries on without any disruption and that situation will not change during this long process.
