A MULTI-MILLION-POUND scheme to transform a struggling golf course into a championship standard facility has reached the planning stage.

Financial problems forced Woodham Golf and Country Club in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, to close in November 2013, shattering its Irish owner’s dream of creating a £32m housing and leisure development on the site.

Last June, Hall Construction, a Newton Aycliffe-based building and civil engineering firm, bought the course and set about re-establishing it as a golf destination.

The company is now seeking outline planning permission for extensive improvements to secure the course’s future, including a proposal to build 50 houses on the site to support the work.

These plans, which were unveiled to the public in April, are now with planners at Durham County Council and will be decided by a planning committee later in the year.

Neil Westwick, planning director at Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners, the planning consultancy handling the proposal, said: “This work will secure the future of the golf course. It won’t be able to continue operating without upgrading the clubhouse and facilities. The plans include the minimum number of houses needed to support the works.”

Mr Westwick said the club had struggled to attract members following its closure in 2013 and was running at a loss, adding: “Its owners, the Halls, are local and they want to see the golf course remain as an asset to Newton Aycliffe. They are also keen to safeguard the 25 jobs it provides.”

The improvements aim to elevate Woodham to the same standard as other championship courses in the region and include the revamp and expansion of the clubhouse.

Greens and bunkers would also be upgraded, a computerised irrigation system installed and the inadequate drainage system, which currently sees the course closed around 70 days a year, would be overhauled.

The residential development would be located to the northwest of the site, next to Middridge Road, and would comprise a mixture of two and 2.5 storey detached houses.

In 2012, the previous owners secured planning permission for 50 executive family homes and a 75-bed hotel but the new proposal significantly reduces the area of development and does not include a hotel.

Documents submitted by Newcastle-based Pod Architects to support the application conclude: “The scheme has evolved to take into account a wide range of views and issues that will ensure the new development becomes a successful addition within the Newton Aycliffe townscape.”

The public can comment on the application online at durham.gov.uk until Monday, August 17.