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<\/p>\n\tGuest Article by Phil Atkinson, Head of Planning, Custodian Golf<\/p>\n
\tEnglish golf is approaching a moment that will quietly shape its future for the next generation.<\/p>\n
\tFor years, club committees have balanced rising maintenance costs, ageing infrastructure and shifting participation trends. Many estates were designed for a different era, when land was cheaper, operating costs were lower and accessibility was less critical.<\/p>\n
\tNow the planning system is changing in a way that golf cannot ignore.<\/p>\n
\tThe Planning Window For Golf is Now Open<\/p>\n
\tIn early 2026, the UK Government will introduce a new Local Plan making system that will apply to every Local Planning Authority in England. This framework will replace the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012 and is designed to modernise and accelerate the preparation of Local Plans that guide future development across each district.<\/p>\n
\tThe new system introduces a mandatory 30-month timetable from plan preparation to adoption, alongside compulsory five-year reviews to ensure all Local Plans remain up to date.<\/p>\n
\tCrucially, all Local Planning Authorities with out-of-date plans, or plans not sufficiently advanced under the current system, must have a new Local Plan timetable in place by mid 2026. That statutory process will begin with a formal call for sites to identify the most sustainable locations for housing and employment growth.<\/p>\n
\tThis creates a defined and time limited opportunity.<\/p>\n
\tFor English golf clubs with surplus or underused land, the forthcoming Local Plan cycle offers a structured pathway to secure strategic development allocations that can unlock capital value. In appropriate circumstances, this may support partial land release to strengthen balance sheets or enable full relocation to more accessible and sustainable sites better aligned with modern participation and catchment patterns.<\/p>\n
\tBased on Custodian Golf\u2019s national dataset, hundreds of English clubs are operating under structural or financial pressure. For many, land strategy forms part of the long-term solution.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, once draft allocations are established, the opportunity to influence strategic outcomes reduces significantly. In many districts, the practical window to shape Local Plan allocations will narrow sharply after 2026, with the next full review cycle unlikely before 2031.<\/p>\n
\tThe time for golf clubs to understand their position is now.<\/p>\n
\tFrom Planning Pressure to Commercial Possibility<\/p>\n
\tThis is not simply about policy change. It\u2019s about estate strategy.<\/p>\n
\tAcross England, many clubs sit on land holdings larger than current participation models require. Some have peripheral parcels that are rarely used. Others maintain awkward outfields or legacy layouts that no longer serve modern catchment populations.<\/p>\n
\tUnder the new Local Plan cycle, these areas can be assessed properly and strategically.<\/p>\n
\tHandled correctly, surplus land can:<\/p>\n
\t\t\tStrengthen reserves\t\t\tRemove structural deficits\t\t\tEliminate debt\t\t\tFund clubhouse modernisation\t\t\tInvest in drainage and course resilience\t\t\tImprove practice and junior facilities\t\t\tEnhance biodiversity and environmental performance<\/p>\n
\tFor a number of clubs, it may also enable relocation to sites that are more accessible, commercially sustainable and better aligned with future participation patterns.<\/p>\n
\tThis isn\u2019t about diminishing golf.<\/p>\n
\tIt\u2019s about renewing it.<\/p>\n
\tLeadership at Board Level<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\tNot every club should promote land.
Not every club should relocate.
Not every club is under structural pressure.<\/p>\n
\tBut every board has a duty to understand its strategic land position before the Local Plan map is drawn for the next five years.<\/p>\n
\tOnce allocations are drafted, influence reduces.<\/p>\n
\tThis isn\u2019t about urgency for urgency\u2019s sake. It\u2019s about informed governance.<\/p>\n
\tMembers of our leadership team previously oversaw the relocation of Royal Norwich Golf Club, a project that was runner up in World Golf Development of the Year. That experience demonstrated what can happen when land strategy is addressed early, transparently and with clarity of purpose.<\/p>\n
\tThe result wasn\u2019t decline.<\/p>\n
\tIt was renewal.<\/p>\n
\tThe Question For Every Club Chair<\/p>\n
\tBy the end of 2026, most English districts will have fixed the broad areas where housing growth will take place for the next five years.<\/p>\n
\tWhen that map is drawn, it will not be redrawn lightly.<\/p>\n
\tIf your club has not assessed its land position before that moment, you are no longer shaping the conversation. You\u2019re responding to it.<\/p>\n
\tThis is not about promoting development for its own sake. It is about understanding whether your estate is optimised for the next 25 years of the game.<\/p>\n
\tGolf clubs exist because previous generations made bold decisions at the right time.<\/p>\n
\tThe planning cycle now gives this generation a similar moment.<\/p>\n
\tThe question is simple:<\/p>\n
\tWill your club understand its strategic land position before the Local Plan is written, or after?<\/p>\n
\tThe window is open.<\/p>\n
\tIt will not remain open for long.<\/p>\n
\tAbout Custodian Golf<\/p>\n
\tAt Custodian Golf, we unite data, planning and golf expertise to help clubs navigate moments like this with clarity. Our comprehensive national dataset, combined with decades of planning experience and deep industry insight, allows us to assess each club\u2019s position objectively.<\/p>\n
\tThe aim is not to promote change unnecessarily, but to ensure that where decisions are required, they are informed, evidence based and aligned with the long term interests of the club and its members.<\/p>\n
\tAbout The Author\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tPhilip Atkinson is a chartered town planner and a highly experienced strategic planning professional. Atkinson currently holds the role of Director of Strategic Planning at Custodian Golf since April 2023.<\/p>\n
\tPrior to this, Atkinson held various leadership positions and senior roles working for various planning consultancies, construction and mining companies in the UK and Asia. Atkinson is a keen golfer and a member of Hunstanton Golf Club.<\/p>\n