A bid to build a "Ryder Cup" standard luxury golf course in Bolton is facing competition now another venue is bidding for the international tournament.
The £240m Hulton Park project was given the go-ahead late last year after government inspectors overruled the council’s decision to reject the bid.
But the ambitious proposal still depends on Bolton being selected to host the Ryder Cup in 2031 or 2035, which is now facing a rival bid the from the Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa in Bedfordshire owned by the Arora Group
Arora Group founder and chairman Surinder Arora said: “Our acquisition of Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa was always with the intention to curate a luxury leisure and hospitality experience on the existing estate.
“We want to continue building on the already rich history of Luton Hoo and to ensure that any future investment into the estate will bring economic benefit to Bedfordshire and surrounding areas.
“Hosting the Ryder Cup, potentially in either 2031 or 2035, would raise the profile of the area to a global audience and the opportunity to bid to host a Ryder Cup at Luton Hoo is a very real and realistic ambition.”
The Hulton Park project will include an 18-hole luxury golf course as well as a total of 1,036 homes built in Over Hulton.
The proposal was given the greenlight after a debate over several months between developers Peel L&P who believed it could be crucial to the borough’s economy and the council, which rejected the proposals early last year.
The council’s decision to reject the plan was sharply criticised by government inspectors who overruled the planning committee’s refusal and ordered the authority to pay the costs of Peel L&P’s appeal process.
Dominic Young of HM Planning Inspectorate wrote at the time that Bolton Council’s decision had been “unreasonable, irrational and injudicious to the extent that no reasonable authority would have made it".
But Bedfordshire County Council has so far been supportive of the Arora Group’s bid to bring the competition to Luton instead.
Leader Cllr Richard Wenham said: “The Ryder Cup is an iconic sporting event celebrated and enjoyed across the globe.
“Arora’s aspirational plans to take the superb Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa complex set in its beautiful surroundings to the next level, have the scope to put Central Bedfordshire on the world stage.
“Securing the Ryder Cup would be an enormous boost to our thriving economy, bringing many new tourists and supporting more new jobs.”
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But Peel L&P have said that they are still confident that they will bring the iconic competition to Bolton.
Director and planning and strategy Richard Knight said: “Hulton Park remains a shortlisted venue to host an English Ryder Cup in 2031 or 2035.
“While other venues have announced ambitions to enter the process, we remain convinced that the huge regeneration potential of our plans and particularly the ability of a brand-new iconic venue to contribute to levelling up, make Bolton the most compelling choice of location to bring the Ryder Cup back to England.”
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