Perivale Golf Course
There is a decision we need your help with to start the work needed to create a new regional park. We are proposing to change the use of the land that Perivale Golf Course is currently on, so that it can become a new fully accessible park, giving more people more access to a well-designed green space.
We know some people living near to Perivale Golf Course enjoy playing golf there, and we have met with some of the golf club members to explain the proposal and reasons behind it. We thank Perivale Golf Club members for the time they have spent with us.
No decision has been made yet to close the golf course.
We will be open and transparent with you about why we are proposing this action.
Why are we proposing to close the golf course?
Ultimately, we think that the land that Perivale Golf Course is on can be used differently so that many more people who currently use it will also be able to enjoy it. And eventually we want it to be part of the new regional park.
How will closing the golf course mean more people will use it?
If the golf course closes, we promise to transform the land into a new fully accessible park:
- which will give more people more access to a well-designed green space
- where we can support further plant growing and rewilding to increase biodiversity and re-connect people with nature
- which is part of our physically active travel network, meaning it can be used more by walkers, cyclists of all ages and abilities, scooters and users of wheelchairs and mobility aids
- which will have additional physical and mental health benefits
By changing the designation of a golf course to a public park, we also promise that the land will not become an inaccessible bramble covered space.
How much is Perivale Golf Course used?
Perivale Golf Course is a 9-hole, 2,667-yard course covering 21 hectares of open space, built in 1900. The course is in the Greenford area of Ealing, adjacent to Perivale Park and Perivale Park Athletics Track. It is very flat and offers a very limited selection of hole types although it incorporates some hazards, including trees and bunkers.
In the peak month of June 2022 there were only 164 members and there were 408 individual users of Perivale Golf Course.
How popular is golf?
Nationally the number of people playing golf is reducing, and the number of pay and play golf course users in the London borough of Ealing has declined over recent years. There was an increase in late summer 2020 and in 2021 following relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on playing golf, when most sports activities were not allowed to reopen.
The most recent Sport England Active Lives Survey shows that just 1.5% of adults (aged 16+) in England play golf regularly, down from 2.2% five years ago.
In contrast, regular walking for leisure has increased in popularity by more than 10% over the same period (from 41.2% in 2016/17 to 52.5% in 2020/21) – that is over half the adult population who enjoy walking.
Changes being made by private members’ golf clubs are also impacting on the need for traditional municipal courses such as Perivale Golf Course. As more private members' golf clubs open their doors to non-members on a pay and play basis to increase their revenue, this has in turn reduced the number of people wanting to use municipal courses which, generally, are maintained to a lower standard and offer fewer features of interest than private courses.
What other golf courses and golf facilities are in the borough and nearby?
Within the borough of Ealing, we think there are lots of other good golf facilities which are all close by. There are:
- Four 18-hole courses (Brent Valley, Ealing, Sudbury, West Middlesex)
- Two 9-hole courses (Perivale Golf Course and West London Golf Centre)
- One pitch and putt course (Horsenden Hill Activity Centre)
- Three mini-golf courses (West London Golf Centre, Acton Park and a new course in Gunnersbury Park on the border with Hounslow)
- One twenty-six bay floodlit driving range (West London Golf Centre)
In the main, these courses are easily accessible by public transport. However, most regular golf players with access to a car prefer to drive to golf courses due to the need to transport the golf clubs.
Other golf courses accessible by car:
- a 9-hole course, driving range and indoor golf facilities in Chiswick at Duke's Meadow are within 12 minutes’ drive time of Gunnersbury Park
- to the north of the borough there are accessible golf facilities in Kenton Road, Harrow (Playgolf London with a 56-bay floodlit driving range and a 9-hole course) and at the Harrow School Sports Complex (9 holes)
- to the northwest there are facilities at the Hillingdon Golf Club (9 holes)
- all three of these golf facilities in neighbouring boroughs are easily within a 15-minute drive time of Ealing's Horsenden Hill and Sudbury golf sites
- to the south of the borough there are golf facilities available at Wyke Green Golf Club (18 holes) in Isleworth and in Chiswick at Dukes Meadow Golf & Tennis Centre (9-hole par 3, driving range and indoor centre)
- the Wyke Green course is just 8 minutes’ drive time from the West Middlesex Golf Course and the council's Brent Valley golf course is only 11 minutes away
- the Airlinks Golf Centre in Southall Lane, Hounslow is a new 18-hole golf course, with a 24-bay floodlit driving range and a bar and eatery; it’s within a 9-minute drive time of the West London Golf Centre in the north of the borough of Ealing
Clubhouse
No decisions have been made on its future. We think that the clubhouse facilities could be opened up for wider use by more people.
Café
The existing café, owned by the council and run by Everyone Active, is currently used by non-golf customers. We believe it could be improved.
If the golf course closes will the café have to close?
No decisions have been made on the future of the golf course or café.