Masterton Golf Club. PHOTO/FILE
PAM GRAHAM
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Masterton Golf Club has got the go-ahead from Masterton District Council to subdivide two residential-sized sections off part of its property.
Board chairman Rob Blackett said the land was at the back of the eighth green running along to near the tee for the 11th hole.
While it was part of the club’s property it was not part of the course itself and was therefore redundant.
The sections are on Boltons Rd and aerial maps show trees on most of the land.
A potential purchaser had come forward and an independent valuation was being sought, Blackett said.
The club’s plan for the two-lot subdivision had come before the council in December, and said it was looking to sell 26.4 hectares of land it has that runs from the end of Boltons Rd down to Gordon and Kitchener streets.
A note to residents on December 7 said the council would soon be initiating a tender for a potential sale of that land and interested parties would need to submit a concept development plan.
The council land is zoned rural and urban but the council talked about potential developers who would build homes to increase the town’s housing stock.
Blackett said the club was just working through the final processing of its two-lot subdivision, which had been held up for a couple of months while details were worked through.
He said like all golf clubs, the membership was ageing.
“If you look at a five-year period, membership has declined but we have held reasonably steady over the past few years.
“We are seeing an ageing membership but are also seeing a lot more juniors coming in.”
The money raised was not being used for operational purposes but rather for capital expenditure on developing the course.
If that helps the future of the golf club it’s a good way forward