MADAM,

With more than 250,000 houses to be built per year to meet the government target, it goes to show that quality land to build them on is either going to go for a massive premium or they will have to use flood plain land, which is totally unacceptable, see Monmouth as an example.

Just lately though another solution is appearing on the horizon, namely building on our golf courses. It seems the ‘Tiger Woods effect’ has worn a bit thin in the golfing world and with rising cost of club fees, many middle-aged men are swapping their snazzy jumpers and golfing clubs for lycra biking gear. It is causing multiple golf courses to close all over England and Scotland.

According to the Times newspaper between the years 2004 and 2013 one in five golfers in England alone gave up their membership. England Golf, the governing body for golf has stated that the numbers have fallen from 882, 182 to 707,424, with many having done so explicitly to ride a bike. Barratt Homes is re-developing a former course in Durham into 180 four/ five bedroom houses, while at another course in Glasgow Barratt Homes has apparently offered every member of the club £20,000 each for Barratt to buy the land. Redwood Homes is also building 1,100 houses on a course in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

While the trend is a double-bogey for golf fans, it could help to solve Britain’s chronic housing shortage of suitable land to build on.

Will this transformation of more green fields for houses spread into Wales, or more importantly, into our area of Monmouthshire, only time will tell.

On a lighter note, I am writing about golf, have you ever noticed that all golfers wear two pair of trousers to play in, this is in case they get a ‘hole in one.’ Boom! Boom!

John C Morgan

(Monmouth)