Westhoughton Golf Club in flooding row with Bellway Homes

Previously, the downward-sloping greens of Westhoughton Golf Club flowed rainwater into the drainage channel around the circumference of the course.

According to Westhoughton Golf Club manager is Steve Holmes, this water would then trickle into the next-door farmer’s field before seeping away back into the Earth.

But for the last few years, things haven’t been flowing quite as freely.

The area to the right with the dense reeds is where the cut through should be, but the water and thick plantlife has made it essentially impassable (Image: Dan Dougherty)

“All the water that used to drain away into the fields now pools at the bottom of the course,” said Steve.

The issue is affecting two areas – the public footpath next to the practice green, and next to hole 11 of the main course.

“There used to a cut through that people could use next to the practice area,” Steve continued.

The green after rain in December 2022 (Image: George Casson)

“It was a public right of way, but now whenever it rains it’s completely under water, so people have to walk onto the green itself – it’s dangerous.”

Rather than a cut-through, whenever it rains, it now operates more like a moat.

This was something Bellway had previously promised to fix, Steve told me, but despite the issue dragging on for years, and he says as of July 2026, nothing has been done.

Overgrown section of the practice green originally marked out as a public footpath (Image: Dan Dougherty)

 “We’ve had another firm, Yates, doing working on the A6 development on the other side of the course, and they couldn’t have been more helpful,” said Steve.

“You ask them to do anything and they’ll do it straight away – it’s a totally different story to Bellway.”

And even when things do get done, there’s little communication. A small team of people from Bellway came a couple of months ago to do some work but Steve asked them to leave – they’d given no prior warning they were going to be there. Steve said he didn’t even know who they were when they turned up.

“There were people on the course when they arrived, so I asked them to leave,” Steve said.

“They hadn’t given me any warning they were coming down.”

Steve Holmes, manager at Westhoughton Golf Club (Image: Dan Dougherty)

There have been meetings between representatives of Westhoughton Golf Club, Bellway Homes, and Bolton Council.

The council said: “Bolton Council has been in discussions with Bellway Homes and its planning consultants, Lichfields, regarding drainage and flooding issues affecting parts of Westhoughton Golf Club, as well as planning conditions and hedge removal.

“Several meetings have taken place this year, and the council has recently invited Bellway and Lichfields to a further meeting, provisionally planned for the week commencing 3 August.

“At previous meetings, Bellway and the golf club agreed that flood mitigation works on the affected practice ground could proceed under approved planning permission. Bellway was asked to provide detailed plans, including levels information, to the golf club.

“The council remains engaged with all parties and will review the information once submitted.”

Picture from earlier in the year when the rain was more heavy – the water was flowing freely between the golf course and still-being-built estate (Image: Steve Holmes)

The ‘hedge removal’ related in the council comment refers to several hedges that were removed from the front boundary of the gold course, Steve says without permission.

As well as the issue at the practice green, there is said also to be significant flooding next to hole 11 of the main course.

“When it rains the water is probably about six-foot deep at that end,” Steve said pointing to what looked like a pond next to the course, “and it comes all the way up here,” indicating near the treeline which demarcates the green.

“It’s absolutely abysmal.

Steve Holmes with former MP Chris Green (Image: Chris Green)

“Our land used to slope into the fields, but the land of the development is two or three feet above our land now, so the water won’t drain.

“And that’s happened because they’ve not done what they said they were going to do. They said they were going to drain it, but they never did, and they said they’d check all the waterways so we never have a problem.

“But I just don’t believe them.

“And the thing is it’s a reoccurring issue – every time it rains the practice area turns into a pond.

Collected water near the estate – this was during the July heatwave (Image: Dan Dougherty)

Former MP Chris Green became involved in the matter in December 2022, visiting the site and stating he would write to Bellway about the flooding.

In a comment issued around the same time, Bellway said they were planning to install a ‘land drain,’ as well as ‘undertake works to lift the ground levels in the areas affected’.

Bellway have been contacted for comment on the matter.