Royal Borough of Greenwich

Map showing golf courses in borough.

Greenwich has three active golf courses, (excluding those with fewer than nine holes) which together cover a total of 101.65 hectares. That's approximately 2.15% of the borough's total area. None are publicly owned.

Course NameFreehold Ownership
Eltham Warren Golf CoursePrivately-owned
Shooters Hill Golf ClubPrivately-owned
Royal Blackheath Golf CoursePrivately-owned

In total, Greenwich has 45 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 Greenwich's courses over a twelve-hour day is 563, or 180 people at a time. Therefore the total maximum density across the borough's golf courses is 1.77 people per hectare.

Greenwich has an approximate housing density of around 25 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 1,112 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 1,640 homes could be delivered at prevailing densities. That figure is 5.81% 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 Greenwich's golf courses to provide new housing is 3,983, assuming only those areas of courses within the new London Plan policy H2 zone are reclaimed for housing. That is 14.11% 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 15,934.

Greenwich has 3,021 people in temporary accommodation, and 15,386 households on its housing waiting list.

Area of Golf Courses by Freehold Ownership Type

Eltham Warren Golf Course

Eltham Warren Golf Course is a privately-owned golf course with 9 holes, and an area of 17.08 hectares.

The freehold is owned by The Crown, under freehold title number TGL314720.

17.08 hectares (100.00%) 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 25 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 422 homes.

However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 527 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 1,025.

All of this course's area is designated as Metropolitan Open Land.

None of this course lies within the green belt.

Royal Blackheath Golf Course

Royal Blackheath Golf Course is a privately-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 49.31 hectares.

The freehold is owned by RBGC Limited, under freehold title number TGL255426.

49.31 hectares (100.00%) 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 25 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 1,218 homes.

However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 1,523 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 2,959.

All of this course's area is designated as Metropolitan Open Land.

None of this course lies within the green belt.

Shooters Hill Golf Club

Shooters Hill Golf Club is a privately-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 35.26 hectares.

The freehold is owned by Shooters Hill Golf Club Limited, under freehold title number 300719 and TGL73204.

All of this course's area is designated as Metropolitan Open Land.

None of this course lies within the green belt.