Golf course's revamp plan gets go-ahead

A plan to revamp a golf course by building new facilities has been approved.

Billingbear Park Golf Course, near Wokingham, Berkshire, will undergo phased improvements, which will include adding an outdoor putting course, a golf simulator building and a teaching room.

The publicly accessible, pay-and-play course will also install three padel courts and two pickleball courts.

Mark Batchelor, acting for the applicant at a Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead development management committee, said the course "must evolve" to survive.

"Like many courses, [Billingbear Park] faces a clear challenge. Participation in golf is dwindling and a loan would not sustain the site's long-term viability," he said.

"The site must evolve and offer new facilities which reflect how people want to be active today."

Councillors unanimously approved the course's improvement plan, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The majority of the course site falls within the Royal Borough but the car park is within the Wokingham Borough Council boundary.

Wokingham council had no objections to the proposal.