The Richmond Park Golf Course is located on the east side of the Park with its entrance at Roehampton Gate car park. It was opened in 1923 by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) as a public course providing golf facilities to "local artisans", unable to afford membership of private clubs. It is still a public golf course.
There is more on the history and location of the Golf Course at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Park_Golf_Course
The Golf Club is currently undergoing a complete re-development, with a new entrance from the A3, an environmentally friendly club house, upgrading of the two courses and ecological improvements. Glendale Golf is doing the redevelopment and will operate the Golf Course under a long-term concession agreement with The Royal Parks. There is more on the development at http://www.glendale-golf.com/improvements/richmond
In September, Parkwood, the catering contractor for Glendale, applied for a premises licence to hold events at the new club house. The application was for indoor and outdoor events, with music and entertainment until 11pm. There were no restrictions on the light and noise pollution the events would create.
The Friends and local residents lodged objections to the licence application. At a meeting organised by The Royal Parks with Parkwood, the Friends explained our concern at the possible exposure of the Park to light and noise, particularly at times when it can be expected to be quiet. As a result of a number of concessions made by Parkwood, we withdrew our objection. The residents continued their objection and the Licensing Panel imposed further restrictions on Parkwood.
Taken together, the combined restrictions mean that:
• All outside activities will cease at 6pm
• The area where outdoor events can be held will be reduced
• Lighting glare from the premises should not exceed 1 Lux at the far edge of the pond outside the clubhouse
• Noise from the premises should not cause the pre-existing ambient noise level to increase by more than 5dB when measured at nearby residential properties
We think these restrictions will mean the impact on the Park of events at the club house will be minimal. In any case, conditions attached to the planning permission granted in December 2011 contain restrictions which are more onerous than those imposed by the premises licence.