Ealing Council's Cabinet has approved a land deal concerning the West Middlesex Golf Course, aiming to resolve a long-standing legal dispute and allow the council to reacquire the land for future, yet-to-be-determined purposes.
The decision, made at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, 9 July 2026, will see the surrender of a long lease on the golf course land. In its place, West Middlesex Golf Club will be granted a new short-term lease until September 2027, with a potential extension until May 2028. The agreement includes granting West Middlesex Golf Club a new lease of the surrendered land until 30 September 2027, and entering into an agreement for a second short-term lease from 1 October 2027 until May 2028.
A significant aspect of the agreement involves the disposal of a 2.27-acre section of the land to Greenford Road Limited under an option and overage agreement. This move is intended to allow Greenford Road Limited, who are the debt funders of West Middlesex Golf Club, to recover their investment. The council will grant Greenford Road Limited an option to buy this 2.27-acre site after September 2027 for a nominal amount, with the council's interests protected by an overage agreement in the event that development takes place upon the site.
Councillor Stephen Donnelly, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, stated that the proposal's purpose is to resolve a long-standing legal dispute and to recover the land to the use of the council for purposes yet to be determined.
He clarified that the decision focuses on resolving the legal dispute and reacquiring the land, not on its future use. The long-standing legal dispute was between the council as the freeholder and the golf club as the leaseholder, concerning breaches of the lease, as confirmed in the meeting minutes which state there is ongoing litigation on the land between the council and WMGC due to breaches of the lease.
West Middlesex Golf Club has experienced financial difficulties, leading Greenford Road Limited to provide finance to help them exit administration. Councillor Monica Hamidi explained, Over a period of time, the golf club entered financial difficulties. Those difficulties became a source of concern in the relationship between, the council as a freeholder and the golf club as a leaseholder. Ultimately, those debts were covered by Greenfield Road Limited, who acquired rights regarding the club and its assets through that arrangement.
The exact amount of the outstanding debt is not specified.
During the meeting, opposition councillors raised concerns about the consultation process with golf club members, the potential impact on the club's closure, and the precedent the sale might set for the loss of publicly owned green spaces. Questions were also raised about the council taking on maintenance costs for the land.
Councillor Donnelly assured that the negotiations were with Greenford Road Limited, who control West Middlesex Golf Club, and that the current decision was focused on resolving the legal dispute and reacquiring the land. He also noted that the council's role as freeholder comes with responsibilities, including potential maintenance costs. The meeting minutes acknowledge that There will be costs associated with the maintenance of the land surrendered to the Council after September 2027. These will have to be assessed after the deal and will be dependent on future decisions on the use of the land.
Councillor Donnelly expressed confidence that the overall proposal represents good value for the council taxpayer.
The Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Resources to finalise the necessary legal documents. The full details of the Cabinet meeting can be found in the Printed minutes Thursday 09-Jul-2026 17.00 Cabinet.
