Key Points
- A petition opposing the future plans for West Middlesex Golf Club has passed 2,500 signatures in less than 48 hours, according to the reporting cited in the story and the Change.org campaign page.
- Ealing Council’s cabinet is due to decide on 9 July 2026 whether to approve proposals affecting the club’s lease and part of the site.
- The proposals would see the council surrender the club’s existing 76-year lease, grant a new lease until September 2027, and give Greenford Road Limited an option to buy 2.27 acres of the site.
- West Middlesex Golf Club says the shorter lease would prevent membership renewals beyond April 2027 and could push the club into insolvency within a year.
- The club says 27 jobs could be at risk, and it says it was not consulted before the agreement was reached.
- The club, based in Southall, has operated since 1893 and says it serves thousands of golfers and wider community users each year.
- Ealing Council has said the report is intended to address legal issues and financial difficulties, and that no long-term decision on the golf course has been taken.
Southall (West London News) July 9, 2026 — Ealing Council’s cabinet is due to consider proposals that could reshape the future of West Middlesex Golf Club, with the plan now drawing a rapidly growing public campaign against it. As reported by EALING.NEWS, the council meeting follows a petition that has gathered more than 2,500 signatures in under 48 hours, putting pressure on the authority as it weighs the lease arrangements and land options connected to the site.
The central issue is a proposed tri-party deal involving the council, the club and developer Greenford Road Limited.
According to the published council paper, the arrangement would involve the club surrendering its existing 76-year lease, then receiving a new short-term lease running until September 2027, while Greenford Road Limited would be given an option to buy part of the land.
The plan has triggered concern because it would leave the club operating on a much shorter timeline than before.
West Middlesex Golf Club says that deadline would make it impossible to continue renewing memberships beyond April 2027, which it argues would place the business in financial jeopardy.
What does the petition say about the club’s future?
The online petition, Preserve West Middlesex Golf Club for the Community, was launched on 7 July and passed 2,500 signatures by the morning of 9 July after gaining more than 2,000 supporters in its first 24 hours.
The campaign is being framed by the club as a bid to preserve a long-standing local amenity, not just a sporting venue.
Alex Finch, general manager of West Middlesex Golf Club and a spokesperson for the campaign, said the club is “a pillar of the West London community” and highlighted the number of golfers and visitors who use the site each year.
He also said the club provides leisure, health and social benefits, and warned that the future land plans “do not consider us” and threaten to damage the community.
The petition page states that discontinuing golf at West Middlesex would be “unnecessary and harmful” and argues that the club makes an economic contribution to the area.
The campaign has also stressed the club’s role beyond golf, pointing to events and functions held at the clubhouse.
What is the council proposing?
The council paper recommends entering into a tri-party deal over land at West Middlesex Golf Course. The document says the proposal includes accepting the surrender of the current lease, granting a new short-term lease, and providing an option related to part of the wider site.
A separate report cited in the coverage says the developer would be given an option to buy 2.27 acres of the site.ealing.
One version of the emerging plan reported elsewhere also refers to land mainly covering part of the car park and area north of the clubhouse, as well as an optional short lease on the banqueting pavilion.
That detail has added to concern among opponents, who see the proposals as the first step towards a wider change of use.theviewfromw5.
Ealing Council has said the proposals are aimed at resolving legal issues and addressing the club’s financial difficulties.
In its statement, the council said some matters are subject to active legal proceedings and that it would not comment further while those proceedings continue.
Why does the club say the plan is harmful?
West Middlesex Golf Club says the shortened lease would leave it unable to plan properly for the future. The club’s argument is that if members cannot renew beyond April 2027, revenue would fall sharply and the operation could become insolvent within a year.
The club has also said the proposals place 27 jobs at risk. That includes staff linked to golf operations and to the clubhouse, which the club says hosts weddings, funerals, charity events and other community functions.
The club’s history is also central to the campaign. It says it has been operating since 1893 on a course designed by Open champion James Braid, and it remains active as a venue for amateur competition while also serving thousands of golfers each year.
What has Ealing Council said?
Ealing Council has said the cabinet will consider a report relating to lease arrangements for West Middlesex Golf Course. In the statement quoted by EALING.NEWS, the council said the report is intended to resolve ongoing legal issues and issues arising from the club’s financial difficulties.
The council also said the report is not asking members to decide the long-term future of the golf course. It added that any future proposals would have to go through the proper decision-making process and that no decision has yet been taken on future use.
The authority said the report and its recommendations are already in the public domain and that cabinet members will consider all relevant information before deciding. It also said interested parties can follow the cabinet debate and decision-making process.
What is the background to this development?
West Middlesex Golf Club has been part of the local landscape for more than a century, and its current dispute sits within a wider debate about land use, legal control and possible redevelopment.
The council paper suggests the land arrangement is designed to deal with a mix of lease, financial and legal issues rather than simply to decide the golf course’s long-term fate.ealing.
Earlier reporting from the same local media ecosystem indicated that the council would take back the lease but re-grant a shorter one, with the arrangement helping to incorporate the course into the wider West London Regional Park at some stage in the future.
That context helps explain why opponents see the move as strategically important rather than administrative.
The public campaign has gathered pace quickly because it combines heritage, jobs, community use and green-space arguments in one dispute.
The club’s supporters are presenting the issue as one of continuity and local value, while the council is describing the process as a legal and financial resolution still subject to formal decision-making.
What could happen next for local residents?
For residents and club users, the immediate impact depends on the cabinet decision and whether the proposals are approved in full, amended or delayed.
If the shorter lease goes ahead, the club says it could face a tighter operating window, reduced membership certainty and potential insolvency within a year.
For workers, the key concern is job security. For golfers and local groups, the issue is access to a long-established venue that also hosts non-sporting community events.
For the wider area, the decision could shape how the site is used in the short term and what kind of future planning follows, including any later proposals for land use.
