Hoylake’s £200m Jack Nicklaus golf course set for 2020 opening

A two-course golf resort including a hotel and spa in Hoylake has taken a step forward after developer Nicklaus Joint Venture Group submitted a funding and phasing plan to Wirral Council, outlining potential timescales for the project.Wirral Council and NJVG signed a development agreement for the scheme in November 2016, with the council spending £600,000 on geotechnical reports and surveys in support, and NJVG has now outlined how it plans to bring forward the £200m proposals.It will include a championship golf course, an 18-hole municipal course, a golf academy and practice range, alongside a Celtic Manor-branded 90-bed hotel, which will have associated conference facilities and a spa.Around 40 apartments will be built next to the hotel, while elsewhere on the site, Story Homes plans to build 160 houses.The scheme has a gross development value of £200m.According to the funding and phasing plan prepared by consultant Grant Thornton, the planning process will begin in February next year, with planning determined by June 2019.Ahead of the planning application submission date, the council plans to launch another round of public consultation on the project’s detailed design. An initial consultation on the proposals was carried out in 2015.Construction of the first homes on the site will start in December 2019, followed by the course and its facilities opening on a phased basis.The municipal course is earmarked for a January 2020 opening, followed by the hotel in March 2020, and the championship course opening in April 2021.The housing on the site, led by Story Homes, will be delivered between 2019 and 2027. All of the construction contracts for the golf courses, hotel, and associated facilities are to be handled by NJVG.Overall, the development is expected to create 175 jobs once complete, as well as 168 jobs during the construction phase.