Ex-boxer Froch backs campaign to save golf club

A former world champion boxer has lent his weight to a campaign to protect a golf club in Nottingham from development.

Mapperley Golf Club could close under Gedling Borough Council's draft Local Development Plan which earmarks the site for 750 new homes.

Ex-boxer Carl Froch, from Nottingham, said the club "needs to remain where it is and not be touched".

Gedling Borough Council confirmed the golf course was one of its proposed development sites as it works to meet government housing targets. A public consultation on the local plan closes on 3 August.

Froch has taken to social media to offer his support to the club, having played there recently with his 16-year-old son Rocco, who is a keen golfer.

He said: "First of all, for selfish reasons, I use the club. I play in a lot of different clubs around Nottingham.

"We go all over the place and to be honest, I don't see how you can be looking at getting rid of something that's been there since 1907.

The four-time super-middleweight world champion added: "It's not as if nobody's using it. There's waiting lists for most golf clubs now, they're hugely subscribed, oversubscribed in many clubs, so that just shows the demand is there.

"Leave the golf course alone. It's a recreational area for people of all ages, especially the elderly. It gets them out the house and its good for their mental health and wellbeing.

"It's going to have a massive negative impact on the community. I think it's disgusting."

Club members are expecting a public meeting about the plans on Wednesday evening to be well attended.

Alan Pickard, club officer and lead co-ordinator of the Save Mapperley Golf Club campaign, said: "We've been aware of [the possible closure] for just over a year. We would like to stay.

"We lease the land from the council. That lease is up in 2030, but we have advised that we would like to stay well beyond that.

"We've got members from age 10 up to 80-plus, men and women. It is a real haven and a mix of people who go there.

"From personal experience, it's been a real godsend to me as a place of refuge in times when I've not had work, for example, after Covid, it was the only place I saw other adults for months on end."

The golf club is one of several sites earmarked for housing development in Nottinghamshire.

Gedling Borough Council proposes an overall housing target of 11,484 new homes to meet government guidelines over a 15-year plan period up to 2043.

Any development would only happen once the plan is officially signed off by the council and developers would still need to apply for planning permission before starting any work.

In a statement, the council said: "The government housing targets increased Gedling's annual requirement from 460 to 638 homes in December 2024.

"Mapperley Golf Course has been identified in the draft Gedling Local Development Plan as a potential site for 750 homes.

The plan prioritises housing in and around Nottingham's main built-up area, which the council says is the borough's most sustainable location for development.

It added: "The site is currently let to Mapperley Golf Club Ltd through a 25-year lease which expires on 27 May 2030. No decision has been made on the renewal of this lease."

Following the end of the public consultation on the publication draft stage, the publication draft plan and all comments received will be submitted to the government for examination.

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