Victory for golfers as course fit for competition after long landfill dispute

Beacon Park Golf Course will be able to host other teams in the South West Lancs Seniors League this year after the new-look facility was passed by the competition’s organisers.

There has been a long-running dispute between the golfers and Serco after the company was allowed to dump huge piles of landfill waste on parts of the site near Up Holland.

Last year the Beacon Park seniors were suspended from their league due to the poor state of the course, a decision that led to furious reactions from the teams and West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper.

However, following meetings with Serco and West Lancashire Borough Council senior officials to find a solution plans for Beacon Park’s remodelling were submitted last year.

And at a recent league meeting Serco presented its work remeasuring the course and creating 18 holes that meet the regulations, together with the new score cards and the stroke index for the facility.

To the delight of the teams and their backers, the Beacon Park players were re-admitted and are now able to play in this year’s competition.

Ms Cooper celebrated the major victory after so many months of campaigning.

She said: “It has been a long and stressful 12 months for golfers and club members which has required negotiating with West Lancashire Borough Council and Serco to ensure the winners were able to defend their title and West Lancashire golfers could enjoy a competition standard course.

“I am pleased for the captain, Mike Collins and his fellow golfers that they can now look forward to a summer of both competition and leisure golfing.”

The plans for the course which were submitted to the council included remodelling the driving range for footgolf and changes to the first hole green, the second hole tee and landscaping work around the first and final holes.

Before that Serco had been rapped by the local authority and given a breach of condition notice over mountains of rubbish on the golf course.