Members and management at Springfield Golf Club are sighing a breath of relief after the council has agreed to a new 30-year lease for the land for the golf club.
According to the NZ Herald, Rotorua Lakes Council’s new lease offer will rule out using Springfield Golf Course for housing and ensures it would kept as a green space in the future.
During a five-hour plus council meeting, which at times became heated, one councillor called a comment “bullshit” and the process a “sham” but later apologised for the outburst.
The Springfield Golf Club has exclusive use of the council’s largest freehold section, about 34 hectares.
Its 18-hole course was established in 1948 and the council bought the land in 1965. The club’s lease will expire in 2027 and it has no right of renewal.
The council voted for a 30-year lease with an initial 10-year period with no alternative use clause. After year eight the council could give two years’ notice for an alternative use of other recreation or stormwater mitigation, requiring public consultation. The lease would not require public consultation.
