Anglesey Council tees up golf course sale

Anglesey Council’s attempt to sell 41 acres at the Llangefni Golf Course are continuing with a further round of public consultation set to conclude before the site can be offered to market.

The council has been looking to sell the site since May 2018, and with a final round of consultation now complete and being evaluated, offloading the 41 acres can now advance to the next stage.

The golf course had made annual losses of £28,000 between 2007 and 2014, while in 2015, the management of the course’s driving range was taken over by the Llangefni Partnership, before being handed back to the council in 2018.

Since a decision was made to sell the course, the sale has progressed, albeit gradually; a tenant was secured for the driving range in January 2019, while initial public consultation began in April this year.

This attracted what the council said were “very low numbers” of respondents, necessitating further consultation; this concluded in September, but again, responses were said to be “very low” with 85 people offering their views. Of these, 43 were in favour of the sale, with 42 against.

Under the council’s plan, any capital receipt from the sale of the land would be ring-fenced and reinvested into leisure facilities at Plas Arthur, while Llangefni’s driving range, shop, and practice areas will remain open to the public.

Despite the low number of responses, the council said: “Having fully considered the comments received, officers remain of the provisional opinion that the executive’s committee’s original decision of May 2018 remains the correct one, and that the disposal of the golf course provides an opportunity to invest in local leisure facilities to realise wider well-being and health benefits.”

“Given the potentially complex and sensitive nature of any process to dispose of an asset, the county council has needed to ensure that all processes are thorough and robust to avoid any potential legal challenge,” added the council.

The council signed off the latest feedback from the public at a meeting this week; the next steps of the project will be brought back to the council’s executive at a later date.