Trafford Council refuse request for 'unviable' William Wroe Golf Course's financial reports

The 18-hole municipal golf course was axed by Trafford Leisure following a review of the profitability of its sites.

The closure of the facility was attributed to the “oversupply” of golf facilities in the area and limited uptake.

Save Flixton Green Belt is fighting to prevent 750 houses being erected on the part of the redundant course, as well as the removal of green belt status from the surrounding area, as part of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) plans.

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In light of the claims about unviability of the site, the campaign group, which boasts more than 5,000 members, asked the council for audit and expenditure reports for Trafford Leisure Services CIC Ltd for the years 2015/2016 and 2016/2017.

However, this request was denied by Trafford Council, as it would ‘unfairly prejudice the commercial interests of Trafford Leisure CIC Ltd.”

A Save Flixton Green Belt spokesperson said: “We feel Trafford Council need to answer some very important questions around the closure of William Wroe Municipal Golf Course.

“The response also stated: “We do not feel that the public interest in disclosure is proportionate to the damage that would be caused”. This quite plainly needs to be explained.

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“To alleviate the suspicions of this community that the closure of William Wroe has been constructed over a long period of time, we formally asked Trafford Council to supply five years of income and expenditure at William Wroe Golf and to confirm that the closure was for budget reasons and not political reasons – such as 750 houses on the site as part of Traffords contribution to the GMSF.”

Save Flixton Green Belt also queried the need to replace Trafford Leisure Trust, a non-profit distributing organisation, with Trafford Leisure CIC Ltd, a community interest company.

A CIC is a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders.

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Save Flixton Green Belt said they will be appealing the decision to refuse the FOI request.

A Trafford Council spokesperson said: “In 2015, the Trafford Community Leisure Trust Board dissolved the Trust and handed responsibility for sports and leisure back to Trafford Council.

“The council explored a number of operating models at the time and a Community Interest Company was formed as it was considered the most viable operating model available, ensuring continued access to leisure facilities for Trafford’s residents and leisure centre members.

“The council recently received and responded to a request under the Freedom of Information Act regarding specific elements of the accounts for Trafford Leisure and issued an appropriate response.”

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The closure of William Wroe was part of a multi-million pound scheme to revamp Trafford Leisure sites.

£24.4million is being pumped into the borough’s leisure facilities as part of an initiative to combat inactivity in the borough.

This includes investing £10m into building a new facility in Altrincham and spending millions of pounds on modernising Trafford Leisure’s Sale, Stretford, Urmston and Partington sites.