england Wirral: Looking Forward to Next Year

     The borough of Wirral is intent on creating “a landmark destination for golf,” and by this time next year it hopes to identify a high-profile private-sector developer committed to building it.
     “This scheme will put Wirral on the map internationally,” a borough official believes.
     Wirral, in northwestern England, aims to build a “signature” golf course -- along with a hotel, meeting space, and a spa -- on 333 acres in Hoylake, a western suburb of Liverpool. The goal, a spokesman for the borough has said, is to open “a world-class facility to rival those at the K-Club and Celtic Manor.”
     Wirral first floated the idea for this venue in 2008, just as the Great Recession was rearing its ugly head and spoiling development plans across the planet. Today, borough officials are putting together a development wish list and will soon issue bid documents, according to the Liverpool Daily Post.
     Since last fall, when the project was revived, something like 20 parties -- including what the newspaper calls “world-renowned golf course designers” -- have reportedly expressed an interest in the undertaking.
     “We have never had as high a level of interest as we have at the moment,” a borough planner told the Post.
     Note to skeptics: A feasibility study by Capita Symonds, the borough’s development consultant, has concluded that the course is viable.

     Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the October 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.