Lancashire club Beacon Park is set to close next month after more than 40 years in business. Managing Editor MARK FLANAGAN tells the extraordinary story of how, during the last ten years, a golf club and its course were inexplicably ruined (part 4 of 4).
If the campaigners thought their enforcement ‘victory’ would lead to better days, they were sadly wrong. In fact it was all about to get a lot worse.
The aformentioned letter sent by then Serco chief executive Rupert Soames, having confirmed the actual amount of landfill deposited on Beacon Park was 153,000 cubic metres, added: ‘The original consent required a proportion of the overall material to be placed on the golf course rather than the driving range. This is what we are working hard to comply with.’
Soames also went to outline that, as a gesture of goodwill, membership fees would be reduced by 50% for current members, leading to one final financial death spiral.
Official figures confirm income at Beacon Park in 2019 dropped to £154,864 while expenditiure increased to £334,267 as presumably the cost of moving thousands of tonnes of soil around contributed to an eyewatering loss of £179,403.
However Serco did not move the soil far. In fact most of it was put on the first hole, just leaving enough space for the members to reach the second tee, where they started their round. In order to get the course back up to 18, the final hole was converted into two holes. The rest of the landfill that was moved from the old driving range was put between the 10th and the 18th while a huge amount remained at the original dumping site.
The following year the awful state of Beacon Park was captured in all its gory glory by popular North West-based YouTuber Liam Harrison, who shone a spotlight on the story and the efforts of the campaigners.
While the landfill had been moved to satisfy the terms of the Breach of Condition Notice (although it took longer than six months) nothing else was done with the material and that led to more members leaving and, in an area where you have plenty of golfing options, casual numbers also continued to drop. However, over time, greenkeeper Peter Lawton was able to tidy things up although nothing was done regarding the enormous amount of material on the first which means the hole was never reopened, despite numerous promises from Serco to restore the layout.
In March 2020, the first Covid lockdown came into force and official figures state Beacon Park’s income for 2020 was just £95,723 against expenditure of £237,912.
And the following year the losses increased to £163,504.
Serco was haemorraging money – membership fees were never returned to their normal levels with the course having never been properly returned to anything like its former state – and in January 2022 a 60-page report was produced by FMG sports and leisure consultancy.
Its aims were clearly stated in the introduction – ‘West Lancashire Borough Council (“the Council”) appointed FMG Consulting (“FMG”) to assist the Council in reviewing the operation of Beacon Park Golf Course advising on possible future operating models that could lead to greater operational and financial sustainability for the Golf Course’.
The report goes into great detail although had you blinked you might have missed reference to the elephant in the room – the landfill debacle.
On page 13, when illustrating the net operating position for the last ten years, the report stated: ‘Table 3.5 shows that the golf club has been operating at a significant negative net operating position since 2012 with the highest net losses experienced from 2018 to 2021. A link between the landfill breach and performance of the course can therefore be made as income has dropped significantly over that period. The net operating position has been made a lot worse due the operator being forced to offer 50% off membership fees because of the course condition because of the landfill breach’.
However, when evaluating the enormous post-Covid bounce felt by the golf industry after the lockdown finished in May 2020, the report also says: ‘On the downside there is limited anecdotal evidence to support whether these factors have led to any increase in membership of clubs, with many reporting additional use from pay as you go ‘nomadic’ golfers with an increase in green fees but not membership numbers.
Quite why nobody at FMG thought of asking England Golf for help re the number of new golf members is unclear. In a report in the Sunday Times in August 2020, England Golf CEO Jeremy Tomlinson said: “Since May 13, there have been 20,000 new members across England. The number of rounds played in June and July was up 60 per cent on 2019 and is trending towards the same increase for August.”
The following year golf membership across the country exploded. Overall golf membership in England increased by 90,000 between May 2020 and December 2021, rising to 737,021.
The report also tried to establish just how much money would be required to turn the club around and analysed a number of options, including creating an 18-hole Family Adventure Golf Course (crazy golf) and building a new eight-bay driving range.
It also outlined the cost of joining other clubs in the area. With Beacon Park coming in at just £460 and the next cheapest 18-hole option coming in at £736, there appeared to be scope to keep Beacon competitive while massively increasing revenues. The problem was sorting out the mess.
A month after FMG’s report was published, the council issued a Pre-Procurement Notice for a ‘potential leisure operating partner for the Beacon Park golf course’. Every year councils up and down the land issue thousands of similar type notices, which is a method of sounding interested parties. Anyone who wanted to replace Serco had three weeks to make themselves known and two companies responded.
Southport Golf Academy, led by Richard Carpenter, has been going since 2011 and his family-led operation have turned the 9-hole complex into a centre of coaching excellence. On the site are two performance studios, utilising the latest in technology to assist golfers with coaching and club fitting.
Love Golf Manchester is run by Andrew Terry and Joe Jackson. It operates previously-failing Marland golf course in Rochdale and Heaton Park in North Manchester. It runs a hugely-proactive playing and coaching programme. It is highly visible on social media and hundreds of children use the courses as a base for coaching every week.
Both companies have told golfnews24 they could take over Beacon Park without any financial assistance from the council.
A week before last Christmas, the staff at Beacon Park were told they were losing their jobs. Green keeper Peter Lawton told the Liverpool Echo: “I’m the head greenkeeper at the golf course and about two years ago it was in a sorry state. We’ve turned it around, we did really much investment, and we were doing well.”
That came after the vote by the full council and the subsequent statement, on December 16, that confirmed…
‘Officers will now undertake an options appraisal for future development possibilities for the site which will be in keeping and complimentary to the beautiful landscape of the Park. The options appraisal work will include a full consultation with the public and key stakeholders.
‘There will be opportunities to create improved facilities to benefit both local people and visitors such as outdoor activity options for families and improved play area spaces similar to other parks located within the North West, that will enable people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the facilities on offer.
‘It has also been agreed that the day-to-day operation of the café will transfer from contractors Serco to the Council. As part of the plans, the Council will be improving the access road to the site and undertaking minor refurbishment of the café and toilet facilities as well as looking at potential for operational/menu changes. The Council’s Community Connector Team will also be able to make use of the facilities at the Beacon, opening up further opportunities to work with the community and key partners. The changes to the café will be designed to support the Council’s priority of improving the health and wellbeing of people in the Borough.’
Since then the last few remaining members have fought on and Serco continued to advertise for new members up until yesterday (February 16). You could still visit www.westlancsleisure.com/beacon-park-golf-centre and ‘join’ as a member (£460 per year) or a senior (£380).
On the home page it stated the following…
‘Beacon Park Golf Club, located in the heart of West Lancashire was founded in 1982 and originally designed by Donald Steel. A superb 18-hole, par 72 (6,251 yard) located within the beautiful Beacon Country Park.
‘Beacon Park Golf Club will certainly provide an enjoyable experience for all levels of golfers and golf societies. It’s an ideal venue for visiting parties and always welcomes guests, providing an excellent choice of golfing activities including cart hire.
‘Be sure to call in to the welcoming clubhouse and well-stocked bar and café to enjoy a beverage or meal after your game.’
The irony of that statement will not be lost on anyone who has had anything to do with Beacon Park over the last four decades.
< PREVIOUS (part 3 of 4): A Beacon of Despair – The landfill arrives years (2013-2018)
ALSO…
• Beacon Park – a view by Mark Flanagan
• Who are Oakland Golf and Leisure?
• How landfill deals work
Do you have any information on what happened at Beacon Park? If so email [email protected]