Much information is hidden from the public in the Cabinet paper about the Golf Club decision

Why was West Middlesex Golf Club ignored after it went bust?

Ealing Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Gary Malcolm, has asked some awkward questions of the Ealing Labour administration regarding a three-way deal to release most of the land of West Middlesex Golf Club (WMGC) back to Ealing Council. 

This was at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, 9 July 2026, which is one of the first meetings post-election (May 2026), in which Ealing Labour was returned with a reduced majority to form the administration of the London Borough of Ealing (LBE) and a strengthened opposition emerged. 

The three parties to the deal are LBE (site freeholder and lessor), WMGC (lessee) and Greenford Road Limited (GRL) who are the debt financer of WMGC. WMGC went into administration in December 2019 and was revived through the purchasing of WMGC debt by GRL in 2022 in return for voting control of the club. There is ongoing litigation between WMGC and LBE regarding a breach of the lease terms. Much of the details of this deal are shrouded due to legal and commercial privilege. 

The new agreement proposes that the remaining lease of about 75 years (from 2001) be converted to a short lease of one year (September 2027). This is in order to: 

• Release 130 acres back to LBE, the freeholder. 
• Sell two acres of the site (with existing buildings and the car park of the club near the road) to GRL. It is up to GRL to decide what to do with this parcel of land. 
• Enable the WMGC a period to complete activities. 

The agreement is de-facto between GRL (a development company) and the Council.

The future of the site has not been discussed and remains unclear. It seems unlikely that WMGC could function without the car park and the buildings, which sit in the two acre plot outlined for GRL. The Ealing Liberal Democrats support sporting and recreational activities although they need to remain viable and available to the greatest number of public possible in order to get the best use of the land. 

Councillor Connie Hersch - Lib Dem Crime, Anti-Social Behaviour, Communities and Culture Spokesperson & Deputy Leader said: "Ealing Liberal Democrats are concerned that the outcome of this decision is to the benefit of a development company to build more towers on Metropolitan Open Land which could be better used to provide recreational facilities for many people in and around Ealing, such as part of a larger Regional Park, or a golf course. It is very disappointing if a sporting facility is unable to continue when clearly it is used by lots of players. 

Why did Ealing Council not intervene sooner? Rather Ealing Council seems to have left the situation in limbo for some years at which point GRL stepped in. All of this shows a lack of leadership and management by Ealing Labour. Ealing Liberal Democrats believe that residents and all voters in the borough deserve some openness and transparency on why it has taken so long before any intervention is being proposed and what the future of the site holds."