Golf stays at Solent Meads with a lease offered to 2051

Golf is staying at Solent Meads, the course and driving range beside Hengistbury Head at the eastern end of Bournemouth. BCP Council, the unitary authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, is starting a formal tender for an operator, and the winner could be offered a lease that runs until 2051.

The news was reported by the Bournemouth Echo on Thursday 24 September 2026. It follows worry among players that the site could be turned over to nature projects instead.

Why was golf at Solent Meads in doubt?

Residents feared the course would go after proposals to repurpose the land for biodiversity. Tom Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, says constituents told him the course was a valued local asset for health and wellbeing, and he took their concerns to the council.

Mr Hayes has welcomed the council's plan, saying the long lease could bring investment into local facilities. Councillor Richard Herrett, the council's portfolio holder for destination, leisure and commercial operations, told Hits Radio that golf is here to stay.

What will the new operator have to do?

The council says any future operator must keep golf accessible and affordable for all ages and abilities. According to The Golf Business, the successful bidder will be expected to invest in the clubhouse, golf shop, driving range, café and public toilets. The Echo adds the car park to that list.

The current lease ends in November 2026. The council says it cannot simply roll it over and has to run a full tender, but the present operator is free to bid.

What happens to the nature plans?

They continue alongside the golf rather than instead of it. The council plans more trees and hedgerows, new ponds and other wildlife features across the wider site, which it puts at around 59 hectares of green space. It says it will work with the operator so that nature recovery and community golf can sit side by side.

What it means for visitors and residents

For local players, the long lease removes the uncertainty and, if the investment arrives, should mean better facilities in the years ahead. The council has not said the course will pause during the handover, though the tender could change who runs it from November.

For visitors, Solent Meads sits at the gateway to Hengistbury Head, with its headland walks and the land train to Mudeford. Our guides to golf in Bournemouth and to Hengistbury Head's walks and wildlife cover the wider area, and the Bournemouth Guide's page on Southbourne has the cafés and pubs nearby.

The area also suits a day on two wheels: the promenade and the routes in our cycling guide to Bournemouth and Christchurch reach it from the town centre. For a few nights by the sea with a round of golf built in, Flexiestays' holiday apartments in Bournemouth are mostly on and around the West Cliff, a drive or bus ride away.