Ealing Council is considering plans to sell part of a historic Southall golf course while taking back control of the wider site as part of a proposed legal settlement.
The proposals affect the West Middlesex Golf Club, which was established in 1891 and later redesigned in 1910 by five-time Open Championship winner James Braid. According to council documents, the club has faced financial difficulties in recent years and entered administration in 2019. The club, located on Greenford Road, currently operates an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, which is regularly hired out for events.
In 2022, a company called Greenford Road Limited (GRL) helped finance the club’s recovery from administration. The company is now seeking to recover its investment while Ealing Council remains involved in legal proceedings over alleged breaches of the club’s lease agreement.
To resolve the dispute, council officers have proposed a three-way settlement involving the council, the golf club and GRL. Under the plans, the club would surrender its long lease back to the council. The authority would then immediately grant the club a short-term excluded lease, allowing it to continue operating from the site until September 30, 2027.
An excluded lease does not provide tenants with an automatic right to renew their tenancy once the agreement expires.
As part of the proposed settlement, Ealing Council would sell a 2.27-acre section of the site to GRL for an undisclosed sum.
If requested by GRL, a second short-term lease covering the pavilion area could be granted from October 2027 until May 2028.
Council documents state that no decision has yet been made about the future use of the land that will return to council control. Officers say all options will be considered once the site is handed back.
An alternative option would be to continue with legal proceedings against the golf club. However, officers have advised against this due to the costs, risks and uncertainty associated with litigation. Although the proposed agreement would avoid further legal action, the council will still incur legal and surveying costs to complete the deal.
The authority will also become responsible for maintaining the land once it regains control of the site, although those costs have not yet been fully assessed.
The financial details of the agreement have not been made public because they are considered commercially sensitive.
Ealing Council’s Cabinet is expected to discuss the proposals on July 9 before deciding whether to proceed.
