Hythe Golf Club in Kent is planning to undergo a £120 million transformation that will see its golf course reduced from 18 holes to nine, and hundreds of new homes built.
Planning permission has been lodged by Ashford-based property company GSE Group that would see 48 three-bed homes built alongside 243 one-, two- and three-bed apartments.
Meanwhile, the eastern half of the current par-68 course would be replaced with a public nine-hole facility, with a new par-three academy course, an 18-hole adventure putting course and a clubhouse.
The four-star Hythe Imperial Hotel, which lies on the edge of the course, would undergo a multi-million pound expansion to add 24 bedrooms in a new wing to the west of the building, taking its capacity to 116 rooms.
GSE is also proposing to create eight serviced apartments on the top floor of the new hotel building – each with a bedroom, lounge area, kitchenette, workspace and ensuite bathroom.
To the east of the hotel, a new leisure building would be built to house a 20-metre indoor swimming pool, gym, exercise studios and changing rooms, alongside a new outdoor pool and a spa and wellbeing centre. A splash park with public toilets, changing rooms and showers is also planned nearby.
GSE Group owns and operates the Hythe Imperial Hotel and previously oversaw the Imperial Green residential development next to the property.
Darrell Healey, chair of GSE Group, said: “This £120 million investment has been designed to strengthen the local economy, benefit the local community, enhance the environment and provide much needed housing to the area while sustaining the future of the Hythe Imperial Hotel.
“Central to our proposals are the significant public benefits proposed for the wider town, including an overdue solution to providing excellent swimming and fitness facilities in the town. We are equally passionate about the remodelling of the golf course and the introduction of new facilities that we hope will attract entire new demographics of participants into the sport.
The site was previously proposed for the development of a 150-holiday chalet scheme across the whole of the golf course, but that has now been scrapped in favour of the new plans.
Healey said: “We listened to the concerns of residents and radically redesigned our scheme to be better aligned with the needs of the local community and provide greater public access. The chalets have been replaced with a mixed residential and leisure development, half of the site will remain as a remodelled golf course, and Princes Parade will remain a public highway.”
A public consultation event is being held at the Hythe Imperial Hotel on 27 November to gather public feedback on the plans before an application is submitted to Folkestone & Hythe District Council.