Town Council Support Misplaced
Dear Sir,
What a great tragedy it is that the fantastic Woodham Golf Course has now been closed by the receivers, KPMG. As I recall, the receivers did tell members who renewed their annual memberships last July, that they intended to keep the course open until a buyer could be found.
It seems to me therefore that all paid up members now will have a claim in the liquidation that this must now have become, for two thirds of their annual fees and should submit claims to KPMG accordingly.
Our Town Councillors should also now be regretting giving their support to Washington Developments, the owners, for their planning application to build houses and a hotel on the course. They should also bear a share of the responsibility for the very sad loss of jobs that has resulted and wished that they had heeded the warnings given very clearly to them by members of the club and by residents of Woodham about the credentials of the company.
Councillors cannot say that they were not warned but unfortunately they were seduced by promises of funds for social housing and potential increases in council tax revenue from the houses that Washington Developments said they were going to build. That was never going to happen and Councillors should have known it.
It would be a good gesture now by the Town Council to offer free membership of the Council owned Oak Leaf golf course until the end of next June to fully paid up members of Woodham as some compensation for the present situation and who knows, this might lead to a boost in paid membership from next July when the present Woodham membership would have expired.
Perhaps also some of the very good Woodham staff who are now out of work could also  be re-employed at Oak Leaf? So, come on Councillors, please at least try to rescue some goodwill by doing something positive to help resolve this unhappy situation. It is after all partly of your own making.
Tony Haworth