No Reprieve for West Middlesex Golf Club
Faces uncertain future after council backs land deal
Picture: West Middlesex Golf Club
July 16, 2026
Ealing Council's Cabinet has given the green light to a controversial three-way deal that could bring an end to West Middlesex Golf Club's 135-year history, despite objections from the club and opposition on the council.
At the meeting last Thursday (9 July), Stephen Donnelly, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, described the recent history of the site as difficult. He stressed that the council recognised the value of the club, and that the proposal being considered was not about ending golf at the site or pre-determining its future use — those were, in his words, matters for others to consider. He also said the funding earmarked for the proposed West London Regional Park would not be affected regardless of whether the golf course ends up being incorporated into it.
Despite these reassurances, the council's own briefing papers acknowledge that there are currently no settled plans for the site beyond a possible future role within the West London Regional Park. What happens to the land — and whether the golf club can continue to operate without its clubhouse and car park, both of which sit within the plot being sold to Greenford Road Ltd (GRL) — remains unresolved.
The Cabinet went on to endorse the transfer of the land to GRL in exchange for the surrender of the existing lease.
West Middlesex Golf Club — originally known as Ealing Golf Club — was founded in 1891 on Greenford Road, making it the oldest golf club in Middlesex. Its 18-hole course was redesigned in 1910 by five-time Open Champion James Braid, and the site has since grown into far more than a sporting venue: alongside more than 7,000 golfers who played there last year, the clubhouse has hosted weddings, funerals, birthday parties and charity fundraisers for the wider community. The course’s greens are highly-rated greens and the club hosts prestigious Open Competitions, including an annual Amateur World Ranking Event. Demand has been rising sharply, with rounds played in 2025 up 79% on pre-pandemic levels. Around 27 jobs are tied to the club's operation.
The club's troubles date back to 2019, when it went into administration. In January 2022, GRL stepped in as a debt funder to finance its recovery, taking voting control of the club in the process. Since then, Ealing Council — which owns the freehold — has been locked in litigation with the club over alleged breaches of its lease terms.
To resolve that dispute, the council put forward a three-way settlement between itself, the golf club and GRL. Under the proposal, the club would surrender its existing long lease (which had roughly 75 years left to run from 2001) in exchange for a short-term "excluded lease" lasting only until 30 September 2027 — meaning the club would have no automatic right to remain beyond that date. The council would then sell a roughly 2.2–2.27 acre parcel of the land, including the existing clubhouse and car park, to GRL, which would be free to decide what to do with it. It is understood that this parcel of land is the most attractive for investment as it has access from the road. A further short-term lease over the pavilion area, running from October 2027 to May 2028, could also be granted if GRL requests it.
Council officers considered continuing the litigation against the club as an alternative but did not recommend it, citing the cost, uncertainty and risk involved. The financial terms of the settlement have not been made public, as they are described as commercially sensitive and subject to legal professional privilege.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, West Middlesex Golf Club argued that the council did not have enough information to make a fully informed decision, and that neither the club, its members, nor other stakeholders had been consulted while the proposal was being developed. The club also disputed a reference in the Cabinet papers to a debt it owed the developer, saying that debt had already been written off by GRL the previous year.
A club spokesperson said the facility had been "part of the local community for well over a century," and warned that a decision of this scale should not be taken without proper engagement with the people who use and value it. The club called on the council to defer the proposal and carry out a full consultation before taking what it described as an irreversible step, arguing that a golf club with 135 years of history "cannot simply be recreated" once lost.
Notably, the club said it was not opposed to redevelopment of the area in principle, and supported the council's longer-term ambitions for the site — its central objection was to the process, not necessarily the eventual outcome.
Cllr Donnelly said that the final decision on the future of the land rests with GRL, not the council but as it widely assumed it will be developed and the plot includes the current golf club buildings, the continuation of golf at the site in the long term looks increasingly unlikely.
The vote came at one of the first Cabinet meetings since the May local elections, in which Ealing Labour was returned to run the council with a reduced majority, alongside a strengthened opposition. Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Gary Malcolm used the meeting to press the administration on why so much of the deal's detail — shielded by legal and commercial privilege — has been kept from the public, and why the club was left to reach this point in the first place.
Deputy Leader Councillor Connie Hersch argued that the arrangement risked benefiting a development company at the expense of a well-used recreational facility on Metropolitan Open Land, land that she suggested could instead support a larger regional park or continued golf provision for the many people who use it. She questioned why the council had not intervened earlier, arguing that the site had effectively been left in limbo for years before GRL became involved, and called for greater transparency from the administration about both the delay and the site's future.
Under the terms of the deal, West Middlesex Golf Club can continue operating under its new short-term lease until September 2027, after which the land reverts to council control. The council has said all options for the site's future use will be considered between now and then, with the possibility that some or all of the course could form part of the wider regional park plan — though nothing has yet been decided. Once the land returns to the council, it will also become responsible for maintenance costs that have not yet been fully assessed.
Current and former members as well as other supporters are rallying behind the club in an attempt to save it. A petition, Preserve West Middlesex Golf Club for the Community, has so far received over 3,800 signatures.
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