Hartlepool Golf Club granted permission for works linked to 'high risk' of coastal erosion

Proposals were submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council planning department last year to carry out the work at the Speeding Drive site.

Bosses at Hartlepool Golf Club are looking to provide four new replacement holes on the 18-hole golf course.

Holes two, three and five would be “completely new”, including work on tees, greens, fairways and bunkers, while hole one would also have a new green installed.

Meanwhile the proposals include the realignment of three existing holes on the course, which include further new fairways and tees at two of the sites.

A report from council planning officers has confirmed the application was considered acceptable and has been approved, subject to routine conditions being complied with, paving the way for work to begin.

The planning application submitted stated the “new holes are being proposed to be built to replace holes at high risk of being lost to coastal erosion on the easternmost edge of the existing golf course”.

A design and access statement added all works will be carried out on areas that are already used for golf, including the existing academy course.

It said: “We will be working carefully with the existing site to create a course that mirrors the challenge that golfers face on the current course.”

The works will also include the installation of new drainage and irrigation systems, the creation of three seasonal ponds and realignment of existing ditches.