RHYL Golf Club has lodged plans to demolish and replace much of its existing clubhouse.

The plans, submitted last month to Denbighshire County Council, would see a first floor storey created for use by the club and as a function space, as well as a new entrance foyer and balcony.

While £92million coastal defence works are carried out in Denbighshire, Rhyl Golf Club is currently closed, and has been since December 31, 2022.

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It plans to re-open on April 1, 2024, with ambitions of becoming the UK’s first carbon-neutral golf club.

Rhyl Journal: A projected image of the new coastal defences.A projected image of the new coastal defences. (Image: Denbighshire County Council)

Extracts from the application’s design and access statement read that this re-development is required due to:

  • The age and deterioration of the building and, in particular, its timber frame elements.
  • The roof structure having coming to the end of its useful life.
  • The major civil engineering works to create a flood defence bund involving heavy vehicles and materials, which cause damage to the existing building.
  • The current building not being fit for purpose due to its layout and specification.
  • The current building not being thermally efficient.
  • The current needing re-development to continue providing an additional use as community facility.

The statement added: “The proposed scheme will improve accessibility, improve security and safeguarding, longevity of the golf club and allow needed repairs and maintenance.

“The sea defence works will characteristically alter the style and function of the golf club.

“It is intended to install a first floor level to allow a ‘view’ over the new seal wall which would not be possible from the existing single-storey building.

“The proposed alterations, extensions and refurbishments will ensure the golf club can remain open, profitable and modernised for the future golfers in Rhyl and beyond.”

Previously, marketing officer Mike Pritchard told the Journal that the club’s aim is "to get as green as we possibly can".

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water raised no objections to the proposals, which also passed a flood risk assessment.

A decision on the application from the council’s planning committee is due by May 17.

Rhyl Golf Club, a nine-hole course which is North Wales’ oldest having been in existence since 1890, was previously earmarked as a potential flood plain.