Plan for championship golf course at Heddon

A planning application has been lodged with Castle Morpeth District Council for a new £2m "futuristic" club house and a separate application for the course itself is expected within a month.

Then residents of Heddon and nearby Wylam will get the chance to view the plans and see what impact they will have on the area.

Mr Wylie and his team at Close House have hired renowned golf course designer Scott McPherson to put together the 18 holes of what will be known as the Colt course after famous golf course architect Harry Colt.

Close House has already seen massive investment since it was acquired from Newcastle University in the summer of 2004.

At that time, the 18th-Century building stood in grounds stretching to 179 acres, but the main house had been somewhat neglected.

Mr Wylie upgraded the accommodation, as well as ploughing around £1m into the existing golf course. He said when he took over Close House that he wanted to turn the golf club into "one of the leading courses in the region".

Alan Graham, a director of Close House, said: "We are very excited by the new developments. It has taken two years to get to this stage while we've been talking to the planners.

"We have purchased another 200 acres over the last four years, steadily buying up more land. This is part of a 10-year plan to maker Close House one of the finest places in the North East. These are exciting times for us as this is one of many projects we are working on."

Mr Graham said the management team at Close House hoped to host a significant tournament on the new championship-standard course.

"This will be a championship standard golf course. It will be of a much higher standard than the existing course which will attract a competition at some time in the future, if we can get the right tournament."

Mr Graham said the intention was to demolish an existing 1960s changing block, built by Newcastle University, and replace it with a new clubhouse.

He said: "It's a futuristic, modern design. Something a bit different. At present, the golf at Close House is run from what used to be a cricket pavilion, but we are going to move the whole operation closer to the house."

John Glendinning, golf operations manager of the golf club, said: "The future is very exciting for this magnificent hotel and golf club This (development) will bring a great deal of interest into the region, and will complement what we currently offer at Close House Hotel perfectly."