London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames

Map showing golf courses in borough.

Richmond-upon-Thames has seven active golf courses, (excluding those with fewer than nine holes) which together cover a total of 400.79 hectares. That's approximately 6.98% of the borough's total area. Of these, three are publicly owned.

Course NameFreehold Ownership
Royal Mid-Surrey Golf ClubPrivately-owned
The Richmond Golf ClubPrivately-owned
Hampton Court Palace Golf ClubPrivately-owned
David Lloyd Hampton Golf ClubOwned by borough
Fulwell Golf CourseOwned by borough
Strawberry Hill Golf ClubOwned by borough
Richmond Park Golf CoursePrivately-owned

In total, Richmond-upon-Thames has 144 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 Richmond-upon-Thames's courses over a twelve-hour day is 1,800, or 576 people at a time. Therefore the total maximum density across the borough's golf courses is 1.44 people per hectare.

Richmond-upon-Thames has an approximate housing density of around 15 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 2,176 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 2,113 homes could be delivered at prevailing densities. That figure is 51.42% 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 Richmond-upon-Thames's golf courses to provide new housing is 8,389, assuming only those areas of courses within the new London Plan policy H2 zone are reclaimed for housing. That is 204.12% 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 33,557.

Using the same methodology for publicly-owned golf courses within Richmond-upon-Thames, a total of 2,594 homes might be created (15.90% of the London Plan target). 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 10,375.

Richmond-upon-Thames has 712 people in temporary accommodation, and 4,336 households on its housing waiting list.

Area of Golf Courses by Freehold Ownership Type

David Lloyd Hampton Golf Club

David Lloyd Hampton Golf Club is a publicly-owned golf course with 9 holes, and an area of 21.18 hectares.

The freehold is owned by London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, under freehold title number TGL219027.

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

None of this course lies within the green belt.

The name of this course was at some point changed from Twickenham Golf Course to David Lloyd Hampton Golf Club.

Fulwell Golf Course

Fulwell Golf Course is a publicly-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 54.33 hectares.

The freehold is owned by London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, under freehold title number SGL318570.

30.64 hectares (56.40%) 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 15 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 463 homes.

However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 579 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 1,838.

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

None of this course lies within the green belt.

Hampton Court Palace Golf Club

Hampton Court Palace Golf Club is a privately-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 93.68 hectares.

The freehold is owned by The Crown, under freehold title number TGL393258.

32.49 hectares (34.68%) 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 15 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 491 homes.

However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 614 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 1,949.

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

None of this course lies within the green belt.

Richmond Park Golf Course

Richmond Park Golf Course is a privately-owned golf course with 36 holes, and an area of 91.79 hectares.

The freehold is owned by The Crown, under freehold title number TGL319275.

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

None of this course lies within the green belt.

The course comprises 2 x 18-hole courses plus driving range.

Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club

Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club is a privately-owned golf course with 36 holes, and an area of 85.82 hectares.

The freehold is owned by The Crown, under freehold title number TGL321712.

64.10 hectares (74.69%) 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 15 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 969 homes.

However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 1,211 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 3,846.

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

None of this course lies within the green belt.

The course comprises two courses with 18-holes each.

Strawberry Hill Golf Club

Strawberry Hill Golf Club is a publicly-owned golf course with 9 holes, and an area of 12.59 hectares.

The freehold is owned by London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, under freehold title number MX71310.

12.59 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 15 homes per hectare), it might be possible accommodate around 190 homes.

However, with a more ambitious density target of 125% compared to prevailing densities, this could be increased to around 238 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 755.

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

None of this course lies within the green belt.

The Richmond Golf Club

The Richmond Golf Club is a privately-owned golf course with 18 holes, and an area of 41.40 hectares.

The freehold is owned by The Richmond Golf Club Limited, under freehold title number TGL323142.

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

None of this course lies within the green belt.