Golf club plans sell-off

 • Golf Club committee member Lindy Lockhart and club captain Dale Edmunds peruse subdivision plans near the fourth green overlooking the proposed residential area.

By Tony Scott,
November 24, 2021

The Bridport Golf Club is proceeding with a proposal to sell off a section of its grounds for residential development.

The plan to subdivide about 10 hectares to the south of the course has been around since 2014.

A vote of members more recently decided to push ahead with the plan.

But club captain Dale Edmunds said the decision included that the land would be cut from the course’s title and sold to a developer who could then proceed with a residential project.

“It’s not our core business and we didn’t want to get into trouble with the complexity that will be involved.”

He believes there’s room for more than 50 blocks of less than 1000 square metres each, many facing directly onto Sandy Points Road and with the option of an internal horseshow shaped access street, possibly with some cul-de-sacs connecting to it.

“Both sewerage and water service lines should be able to extend to the area, because they both come right to the club’s entrance at the top of the hill.

“So we’re looking at a quality development with blocks big enough to fit all your toys on without being too big to manage.”

He said there had already been approaches from prospective developers.

Club committee member Lindy Lockhart said the recent property market in Bridport had helped convince them to blow the dust off the plans that had been around for seven or eight years.

“Bridport is starting to run out of areas for new housing and the aspect here is nice over the farmland and sea views to the west.”

The Club brought the land it had previously leased from Parks and Wildlife Service for less than $50,000 more than 20 years ago.

Mr Edmunds said apart from the nine-hole course it had a further eight hectares of undeveloped scrub north west of the course.

That could be used to extend the number of holes making up the course, but that’s unlikely in the foreseeable future given the demands on volunteers to maintain the existing course.

He said the members had been unanimous in not being involved in the development project after selling the parcel of land.

“They wanted to pre-empt getting into any sort of financial trouble, as has happened in some places.”

He expects much of the proceeds of the sale to be invested with about a third to be used to upgrade some equipment and infrastructure at the club.

But it will still be sometime before any of the blocks are available.

It’s still likely to take four or five months to complete the sale of the 10 hectares to a developer, who will take up to four or five years to complete the subdivision project.