Clarence council launches drive to find new operator for Rosny Park golf course
The first step has been taken to return golf to a more than 100-year-old course on Hobart’s Eastern Shore, but the landowner warns the fairways may not re-open for several months.
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THE hunt for a new operator for a public golf course on Hobart’s Eastern Shore has begun, after a successful public campaign to save it from closing permanently.
The Clarence City Council will advertise this weekend for expressions of interest from groups interested in running the course, but the process is expected to take several months.
The course, next to Eastlands shopping centre, closed on April 24 as the YMCA’s agreement to operate the council-owned asset finished at the end of last month.
For now, the course is off limits to golfers, but is expected to open again for the short to medium term as the council considers how to best use the land under its City Heart project.
“Our goal is to work through this process as quickly as possible so that people can return to playing golf at Rosny whilst we undertake the broader City Heart process,” Clarence Mayor Doug Chipman said.
“We’re conducting this expression of interest process to ensure fair consideration is given to all potential applicants.”
Alderman Luke Edmunds, who campaigned to keep the course open until the council had a clear plan for how the land would be used, welcomed the development and said he hoped the process would be completed quickly.
“At the end of the day we just want to see people back out there playing a round as quickly as possible,” he said.
Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the organisation was anxious for golf to remain a part of Rosny Park, where it has a more than 100-year history.
“Public facilities are the heart of golf and the starting point for so many players of our game. The game itself offers lifestyle and health benefits for people of all ages which is quite unique in sports,” he said.
“Golf has enjoyed enormous growth in participation rates over the last 12 months and, in offering our support to the YMCA as the recent operators of the facility, we remain optimistic that the Clarence City Council will deliver on its commitment to re-open the course and look favourably on proposals to enhance the offering to golfers in the medium term.”
At last month’s council meeting, a motion from Ald Edmunds to keep the sport operating there was passed by aldermen in a vote of 6-5.
A groundswell of public support — including a gathering of more than 100 people just days before the council meeting — had urged golf to continue on the land.
Originally published as Clarence council launches drive to find new operator for Rosny Park golf course
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