Golf course and scout hut to be sold off by Croydon Council as it deals with its financial crisis

As the council continues to deal with its financial crisis, it hopes that selling off the golf course, scout hut and two other assets will make £2.1 million, and save £120,000 a year.

Coulsdon Golf Club is leased out by the council with around £19,000 rent a year paid to the council,

The 18-hole course set in 140 acres of land is a public course and has been owned by the council since the 1930s.

The course and the Coulsdon Manor Hotel on the same site were leased out by the council in 1999, an initial £150,000 was paid to the council for the course.

While an initial premium of £600,000 was paid to the council for the 42-room hotel, it pays a “peppercorn rent”- a very low token rent.

It was the current tenants, Bespoke Hotels, that approached the council to buy the freehold. How much it will be sold for has not yet been revealed.

A scout hut in Peppermint Close, Waddon, that has not been used by the scouts for two years will also be sold off.

A council report says the hut needs urgent repair and is currently being used by a local faith group which has offered to buy the building.

The council will also sell off the adult learning centre, CALAT, in Coulsdon.

It was previously thought the site could be used by council-owned developer Brick by Brick to build flats, a community centre and health centre.

But now it will be sold off due to a “lack of progress” with the plans.  Whoever it is sold to will have to build a health centre on the site.

The council has also been negotiating with the owner of an neihgbouring site to a garage it owns in Windmill Road.

This is another Brick by Brick site which will not be developed and will be sold off.

It is also set to lease out Heathfield House to special needs school Cressey College. The building was previously used as a training centre by the council.

It will mean fencing off part of the public land around the building which some locals are concerned about.

At a council meeting last week, Steve Wingrave, head of asset management management,  said at least 75 people has responded to a public consultation on the change.

He said: “A lot of [the comments] are focused on the impact to do with not being able to have school children being able to visit the site and conservation volunteers. We are working to a solution on that with the ecology centre.”