Welcome to Our Plans for Bognor Regis Golf Club

Bognor Regis Golf Club and Hallam Land Management (HLM) are working in partnership to secure the long-term future of the Golf Club through relocation to a benchmark new venue that will be facilitated by the redevelopment of the existing course for new homes and parkland. This website provides details of the proposal and range of local benefits that it will secure, as well as outlining the next steps and how comments on the proposed schemes can be made.

Bognor Golf Course: Partnership

Founded in 1892, Bognor Regis Golf Club endorses the traditional values in golf of integrity, courtesy, consideration and respect for others. At Bognor Regis these traditional golf values are combined with competitive and social golf, as well as a thriving social environment to create an enjoyable experience for all members. Whilst ensuring the present facilities provide the best experience for members and visitors today, the Club also believes that it should provide opportunities for future generations locally to enjoy the game of golf and the friendship and camaraderie it brings.

In April 2017 at an EGM of the club, the membership voted overwhelmingly in favour of entering into a Promotion Agreement with HLM. This provided a framework for a development partnership to facilitate the relocation of the Golf Club and develop a new venue that will ensure the Club’s long-term future.

HLM is part of the Henry Boot Group of Companies specialising in the promotion of strategic land and unlocking complex and diverse planning and development challenges. HLM has over 30 years’ experience facilitating new development by planning, designing, and delivering the blueprint for places where people want to live, work and play across the UK from 7 regional offices.

Bognor Golf Course: Challenges

Whilst much has happened since spring 2017, the Club still faces a number of fundamental issues that could impact on its long-term financial sustainability. This includes the drainage challenges facing the existing course and the restrictions on winter playability. The existing facilities are increasingly tiring and there is a need to respond to the expectations of members and visitors both now and in the future.

There have been a number of external pressures, such as the construction of the bypass and housing adjacent to the eastern boundary, which have also changed the golfing experience at the course. Arun District Council’s adopted Local Plan also proposes a ‘north-south’ link road, intended to facilitate access to a proposed employment area at the former ‘LEC’ runway site, which would likely entail the loss of part of the existing course to the north.

A new golf course for Bognor Regis

Working with the Club, HLM has undertaken an extensive site search for a suitable new home for the Golf Club taking account of criteria such as distance from the existing location and ability to accommodate the features that the Club is seeking at the new venue.

The new venue is proposed to be located on 180 acres of land south of Grevatt’s Lane and, at its closest point, is about 1.7 miles east of the existing clubhouse.

The proposals, which have been informed by extensive technical work and engagement with statutory and non- statutory bodies, would provide an improved outdoor sports/golf course facility as an asset for the wider Bognor area. A summary of the site’s constraints is illustrated below.

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Masterplan Banner
Masterplan 2 (2.67 MB)
Part of Our Vision for the Site
Our Vision for Bognor Regis Golf Course

Our vision for Lidsey Green is to create a development that delivers positive growth for Felpham and Bognor through the provision of high-quality housing, interwoven with social and environmental infrastructure, that promotes inclusivity, biodiversity, and wellbeing.

The masterplan has been landscape led in order to sensitively integrate development within the existing landscape structure provided by the golf course and its immediate environs. The development’s green infrastructure will deliver a significant area of accessible greenspace and wholesale biodiversity enhancement. Principally, the proposals seek to achieve an effective and sensitive transition between the urban edge of Felpham and the Lidsey Rife. As far as practical this Green Infrastructure framework will be formed around existing features, such as trees, ditches, watercourse and hedgerows. Some localised tree loss will be unavoidable however for every tree needing to be removed the development will plant at least three in its place.

Access Considerations - Bognor Golf Course

Road access to the development will be via Golf Links Road. This will necessitate a change in priority to form a new road junction into the site. In addition, a number of local improvements to offsite junctions and existing Public Rights of Way will be provided.

Bognor Golf Course - Arrival and Access

Land crossing the northern part of the golf course will be safeguarded (kept open and available) for the delivery of a new link road between the A259 and the current airfield.

Redevelopment of Existing Golf Course

The development will reflect the best qualities of housing found in the area whilst responding to the need to create a 21st century neighbourhood designed to reduce carbon, save energy, conserve water and enhance biodiversity.

Some of the key sustainability measures that are being pursued in the planning and design of the proposed development, and that will benefit both residents and the local communities across its full life cycle, include:

  • Achieving at least 30% affordable homes across the site.
  • Working in accordance with the principles of Secured by Design, to promote safety for the community.
  • Designing the residential developments to respond to the requirements of the circular economy, in the way that earthworks at site are managed (striving for ‘self-containment’), and building materials are selected responsibly and sustainably.
  • Lifetime Homes Standards, which sets out sixteen criteria that help building owners easily adapt - with minimal additional investment - their properties for future needs.
  • Anticipated Future Homes Standard, supporting the drive for future-proofed low carbon heating and energy efficiency.
  • Producing 10% of the total predicted energy requirements of the site, from renewable or low carbon energy sources.
  • Prioritising pedestrian and cycle access to the natural and other community spaces, and to the existing (wider) green infrastructure network.
  • Making provision for electric vehicle charging and cycle storage, in accordance with local policy requirements.
  • Taking into account the effects of climate change in the design of site drainage strategy, whilst including naturalised swales and Sustainable Drainage Systems –these measures will ensure both the properties and land (on and adjacent to the site), are protected from flooding both now and in the future.
  • Ensuring the designs preserve and improve access to the ecology of the Lidsey Rife, which is designated as a ‘Biodiversity Opportunity Area’.
  • Providing green spaces for community recreation, health and wellbeing, and growing edible fruit, vegetables and plants.
  • Incorporating a mix of native and non-native plant species at site, selected with the changing climate in mind.
A vision of sustainability
How to Comment on Proposals for the Bognor Regis Golf Club

Next steps

HLM intends submitting an outline planning application for the redevelopment of the existing course by the end of the year with a full planning application for the development of the new golf course following shortly in January next year. Arun District Council has indicated that both applications would be subject to formal public consultation at the same time.

Comments

HLM and the Golf Club welcome your comments on the proposal that will be responded to in the material that will support the planning application. The consultation is running from Monday 29th November - Monday 6th December*. Please send any comments on the proposals to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.** by the end of the consultation period.

You will have a subsequent opportunity to comment directly to the planning officers at Arun District Council once the formal planning applications have been made.

*website will be active until the end of the year (2021)

**please note that this email address will be active until the end of January 2022