Golf club postpones land swap decision

Bray Golf Club in Co Wicklow has postponed a decision on a possible multi-million pound land swap with the Earl of Meath. The club, which had arranged an extraordinary general meeting to debate the plan, has received a second offer for its prime town centre site.

Under the original deal, reported in The Irish Times in May, Bray Golf Club's ground landlord, the Earl of Meath, would have supplied the club with a site for an 18-hole course, twice its present nine holes, and clubhouse facilities on land on the western slopes of Bray Head. It is understood that that deal was being brokered by a prominent housebuilding firm.

However, even as the golf club members prepared for the e.g.m. last week, news of a second proposal from another property developer, was received. According to Mr Tom Brennan, the club's secretary/manager, the members felt they had no option but to cancel the e.g.m.

It is understood the second offer is a simple cash deal which would allow the club to move to a new 18-hole site, build a new clubhouse and have money left over.

The lands, which have been home to the golf club for 101 years, have been valued at between £200,000 and £300,000 an acre with planning permission. Development of the lands appears to have the blessing of Bray Urban District Council, which in tandem with Dun LaoghaireRathdown County Council recently rezoned the golf club land from open space to mixed use, involving part residential, commercial, amenity and open space. The council has also retained the services of town planners Brady Shipman Martin to come up with an area plan for the development of the club's existing 47 acres.

Lord Ardee, who manages the estate on behalf of his father, the Earl, was unavailable for comment yesterday. He had previously told The Irish Times that the land swap negotiations had been going on for over 12 years but had recently been "hotting up". His family, he said, were "a pretty low-profile lot".

The family have extensive land holdings around north Wicklow, centred on Kilruddery house on the outskirts of Bray. They have a long association with the town, notably with the building and donation of the town hall to the people of Bray in 1881. In recent years Bray's expansion has focused on land around Kilruddery, with what amounts to a new town at Ballywaltrim, significant industrial development and private and local authority housing. The family have received sums estimated at tens of millions of pounds for this land.