In a letter to his solicitor about the prospect of death duties written 27 September 1944, Lord Desborough reviewed his land holdings. He said that “There would…be a good deal of indignation if the Maidenhead Golf Course were broken up…”.
Lord Desborough died 9 January 1945, and in 1953 the golf course land was offered for sale by auction. It was purchased by the Mayor (Cllr T A Stutchbury) and offered to the Council.
This was reported in the local paper in 1953 under the headline ‘Action to preserve an open space’:
‘IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PUBLIC MEETING, THE COUNCIL MET IN COMMITTEE AND UNANIMOUSLY DECIDED TO BUY THE GOLF COURSE. THEY TOOK THE VIEW THAT THIS LAND WAS SCHEDULED AS AN OPEN SPACE IN THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND THAT PUBLIC OWNERSHIP WAS THE BEST WAY OF ENSURING THAT IT REMAINED AN OPEN SPACE.’
The newspaper report shows there was an emphasis of keeping the land as ‘open space’. The council of the day took the same view. So our current council is clearly going against the express wishes of the council at that time, and they aren’t listening to calls from local people to protect this greenspace for future generations.
Election promises are being broken
When the Conservative party presented their manifesto in front of the town hall in April 2019, ahead of the last local elections, they made a commitment to ‘resist Green Belt release’. But they are asking to buld on the Green Belt of the golf course, using housing need as the ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Ways to support our campaign
- Contribute to our fundraising campaign https://www.gofundme.com/f/maidenhead-great-park
- Write to our MP Theresa May to say you oppose the development of the golf course (sharkeyj@parliament.uk) https://www.tmay.co.uk/contact
- Write to your local councillors to ask them to vote against the adoption of the Borough Local Plan when it comes to full council. You’ll find contact emails for your councillors here: https://maidenheadgreatpark.co.uk/ask-your-councillors-to-reject-the-blp
I agree wholeheartedly with the strong emphasis on preventing the development of this land.
On what I have read so far, your policies concerning what should happen in future are unclear: do you expect the land to continue as a golf course and club for the time being? And beyond the lease, what then?
I suggest the Great Park Project needs a positive future to be articulated rather than simply the negative “Stop Development” banner.
Thanks for your comment Alan. The golf club has a lease until 2039 but they have agreed to surrenduring that lease at the end of 2025 if the BLP is adopted. Our aims are to stop the development, get the land properly protected so it can’t be threatened again and then start a conversation about how the land is best used by our community. This could be tree planting, water storage, community activities and a Great Park for everyone. It may be that the golf club ends up staying but until 2039. That would be a good outcome as the land would stay green and in public ownership. So there will be options for using this space in the future to help mitigate the effects of climate change.