15-year plan to alter Whitehaven golf course given approval

The application for the 77 hectare-site at Red Lonning was submitted by site owners Western Lakes Ltd in early 2022.

More than £5million has already been invested into Whitehaven golf course since 2003, with a new clubhouse, a 12-bay golf driving range with pro shop and teaching bay, and improvements to the course.

However, there are issues with the physical condition of the site, which has a 'critical influence on playability', the plans said. During October to March, they said that large areas of the course are 'unplayable' due to ponding.

The plans involve bringing in 225,000 cubic metres of clean subsoils and permeable material to the existing fairways; the creation of new land drainage infrastructure; the planting of new and replacement specimen trees and woodland; and the creation of improved formal access to the course via the existing layby east of Red Lonning.

The vast quantities of permeable material required will be sourced from the G&AM Lawson recycling facility at the Energy Coast Business Park, according to application documents.

The proposals were approved at a meeting of Cumberland Council's planning committee held on November 8.

Whitehaven Golf Course. Picture: Google Maps

The golf course lies on the site of a former opencast coal mining operation. Following completion of the extraction operations, restoration work took place and a golf course was approved and completed in the early 1990s.

The freehold for the site was purchased from Copeland Borough Council by Western Lakes Ltd in the following years.

The club currently benefits from over 350 full members, including junior and over 50s branches.