Work has started on a hireable room for up to 40 people, with its own kitchenette, due by Christmas. It takes council spending at Wellin Lane to £540,000.

Builders are on site at Edwalton Golf Centre, converting a part of the clubhouse nobody has been using into a room the public can hire.

Rushcliffe Borough Council has put £290,000 into the extension and says the work will continue until Christmas. The finished space is designed for up to 40 people, with its own toilet and kitchenette.

It is the second large piece of spending at the Wellin Lane site in three years, and it takes the council’s total there to £540,000.

What is being built

According to the council’s announcement on 27 August, the project includes:

  • a new multi-functional room for up to 40 people
  • its own toilet and kitchenette
  • a small outdoor seating area, so events can run indoors or out
  • upgraded thermal insulation
  • improved drainage and fire prevention measures
  • solar panels on the roof

The council lists meetings, small corporate conferences, parties, coffee mornings, exercise and dance classes and children’s groups as the uses it has in mind. There is free parking on site.

The contractor is Lindum Group, based in North Hykeham in Lincolnshire and registered at Companies House since December 1975. The firm was appointed through Pagabo’s Refit and Refurbishment framework, according to Pagabo’s own case study published in March.

Lindum director Nick Hammond said the team had spent recent months working with the council on a layout “that makes the very best use of both the building and surrounding landscaped areas”.

The running total at Wellin Lane

The council’s cabinet portfolio holder for leisure and wellbeing, Cllr Jonathan Wheeler, put a figure on the total.

“We’ve allocated £540,000 to support significant improvements at the golf centre in recent years,” he said, “and the extension of the clubhouse is another wonderful example of Rushcliffe Borough Council investing in its communities.”

That splits into £250,000 already spent and the £290,000 now being spent. The earlier money paid for the bar and café, the community meeting room and an interactive darts game.

Bar chart of Rushcliffe Borough Council spending at Edwalton Golf Centre: £250,000 previously invested in the bar, cafe, meeting room and darts, and £290,000 on the new clubhouse extension, totalling £540,000
Graphic by West Bridgford Live.

The council has been trying for a while to get non-golfers through the door. Its March 2024 announcement of a £100,000 refurbishment was headlined “more than just golf”, and covered a pizza oven, new draught beers, new signage and highchairs for family groups.

The darts machine arrived in April this year. It carries 15 games and costs £16 for up to six people between Monday and Friday before 4pm, or £20 on evenings and weekends.

There is also a defibrillator outside the building, accessible 24 hours a day, put there under the council’s Safe Hearts in Sport scheme with UK Shared Prosperity Fund money.

What it means for you

If you were planning to use the clubhouse this autumn, expect building work around you until Christmas. The council has not said the centre will close, and the golf course is not part of the scheme.

If you run a group that needs a room, this is a new option in Edwalton from around the turn of the year. The council has not published a hire rate for the new space, so there is nothing yet to compare against village halls locally. The existing meeting room is already bookable.

The centre is on Wellin Lane, NG12 4AS, and the council says the new facility will be managed by LoyalTee Golf on its behalf. Getting there on foot has recently become easier: the council says a new footpath now connects the wider Edwalton Fields development to the golf centre, so people can walk through to the café and bar without playing a round.

More on getting around the area on our parking in West Bridgford page, and on what else is on locally at things to do in West Bridgford.