Mother Nature reclaims former Chester golf club that is now a haven for wildlife

An abandoned Chester golf course has been highlighted by The Guardian newspaper because of the rewilding that is naturally taking place providing a home for flora and fauna.

The Oaks Golf Club at Mollington closed its doors in May 2016 after years of financial instability.

Ella Davies, in her country diary for The Guardian, writes: “Without weed killer and blades, the paths are slowly succumbing to moss and plantains. Edged by dandelions, the former fairway grows past my ankles and is scattered with wildflowers. Overhead, house martins zap at each other and gorge on the bounty of insects on offer.

“Sand traps have been overwhelmed by nettles, and while some water hazards closer to the canal host happy families of mallards, the most artificial ones are now just damp patches marked by buttercups. Elsewhere, paths tumble into ponds, exposing the half-bricks of construction. At the water’s edge, a golf ball, half submerged in mud, goes unnoticed by fidgeting tadpoles.”

There is a right of way through the old course but nowadays walkers and runners seem to wander freely across the whole site.

Late last year the new owners of the greenbelt land explained their short and long term vision during a packed public meeting at St Oswald's C E Aided Primary School in Mollington.

Harworth Estates Investments Ltd are keen to work with the community to create paths for walkers and cyclists through the site to provide formal access to the adjacent Countess of Chester Country Park.

This would be in return for a small housing scheme with a view to building more down the line.

They will seek to demolish the large club house and ground keeper’s store with the area re-greened.

Permission will then be sought for seven or eight homes on the edge of the site, close to Mollington village, with an equivalent footprint to the demolished buildings.

Only if the land was released from the greenbelt to allow Chester’s expansion would a large scale housing scheme be contemplated.

Environmental campaigner Andy Scargill, who is chair of Friends of Countess of Chester Country Park, said: “From my perspective, as a green campaigner, what we would like to see is the old golf club absorbed into our vision for a green corridor from Chester Zoo through the canal to the country park and onto the Supertrees. That’s what we would love to happen.”