Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames
Kingston-upon-Thames has three active golf courses, (excluding those with fewer than nine holes) which together cover a total of 126.05 hectares. That's approximately 3.38% of the borough's total area. All three are publicly owned.
| Course Name | Freehold Ownership |
|---|---|
| Coombe Wood Golf Course | Owned by borough |
| Coombe Hill Golf Course | Owned by borough |
| Malden Golf Course | Owned by borough |
In total, Kingston-upon-Thames has 54 holes across these courses.
Assuming one hole takes an average of 12.5 minutes to play, and that a maximum of four players can play each hole at the same time, the maximum number of people occupying Kingston-upon-Thames's courses over a twelve-hour day is 675, or 216 people at a time. Therefore the total maximum density across the borough's golf courses is 1.71 people per hectare.
Kingston-upon-Thames has an approximate housing density of around 19 homes per hectare. If new homes were to be built on all of the publicly-owned courses in the borough, at this density it would deliver circa 1,003 homes.
Alternatively, if housing was built on those areas of golf course limited to within 800m of a station or high street, or with a PTAL of 3 or more, then around 973 homes could be delivered at prevailing densities. That figure is 10.09% of total housing target for the next 10 years according to the Intend to the New London Plan.
However, the current London Plan advocates for higher density development in areas with good access to public transport. Assuming a (conservative) target of 60 dwellings per hectare, the total capacity of Kingston-upon-Thames's golf courses to provide new housing is 3,143, assuming only those areas of courses within the new London Plan policy H2 zone are reclaimed for housing. That is 32.60% of the borough's total housing target for the next decade.
Based on an average occupancy of 4 people per home (based on 3.1–3.7 hr/unit), the total number of people living within the H2 zone of these courses would be 12,571.
Kingston-upon-Thames has 2,294 people in temporary accommodation, and 1,755 households on its housing waiting list.
There are one golf courses in Kingston-upon-Thames which are no longer in use, covering a total area of 11.40 hectares: Chessington Golf Centre.
Coombe Hill Golf Course
Coombe Hill Golf Course is a publicly-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 51.19 hectares.
The freehold is owned by Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, under freehold title number SGL83465.
All of this course's area is designated as Metropolitan Open Land.
None of this course lies within the green belt.
Coombe Hill is immediately adjacent to Coombe Wood Golf Course.
Coombe Wood Golf Course
Coombe Wood Golf Course is a publicly-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 28.19 hectares.
The freehold is owned by Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, under freehold title number SGL83465.
11.19 hectares (39.69%) of the course's area lie within the London Plan Policy H2 zone (ie. within 800m of a station or town centre, or with a PTAL of 3 or more).
If the area of this course within the policy H2 zone were released for housing at existing borough densities (around 19 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 208 homes.
However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 260 homes.
The current London Plan advocates densities of between 35 and 130 dwellings per hectare, depending on PTAL. Assuming an average density of 60 dph, the capacity of golf courses within the new London Plan policy H2 zone is around 671.
All of this course's area is designated as Metropolitan Open Land.
None of this course lies within the green belt.
Coombe Wood is immediately adjacent to Coombe Hill Golf Course.
The course is in two parts, either side of George Road, with the northern part within a conservation area, the southern part within metropolitan open land only.
Malden Golf Course
Malden Golf Course is a publicly-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 46.67 hectares.
The freehold is owned by Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, under freehold title number SGL667927.
41.19 hectares (88.26%) of the course's area lie within the London Plan Policy H2 zone (ie. within 800m of a station or town centre, or with a PTAL of 3 or more).
If the area of this course within the policy H2 zone were released for housing at existing borough densities (around 19 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 765 homes.
However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 956 homes.
The current London Plan advocates densities of between 35 and 130 dwellings per hectare, depending on PTAL. Assuming an average density of 60 dph, the capacity of golf courses within the new London Plan policy H2 zone is around 2,471.
All of this course's area is designated as Metropolitan Open Land.
None of this course lies within the green belt.