Carnoustie Golf Links has accused a town councillor of doing everything in his power to “derail” a multi-million pound extension.
The £4.75 million plans to extend the golf centre and provide a “world class customer experience” at the venue has divided the town.
Councillor Brian Boyd lit the blue touch paper when he urged the Carnoustie Golf Links Management Committee (CGLMC) to scrap its £4.75m extension “fiasco” and instead purchase the town’s beach pavilion.
The “boarded up and increasingly derelict” pavilion is to be sold at auction with a guide price of £150,000 which Mr Boyd said would provide “a positive solution to the problem”.
Mr Boyd said it would mean CGLMC wouldn’t need the £2.95m loan which was given landlord’s consent by Angus Council and “they could meet their charitable aims of looking after the heritage of the area and avoid the risk of embarrassment to the town of a boarded up iconic listed building at the public entrance to Open Championship in 2018”.
Graeme Duncan, Carnoustie Golf Links General Manager, said it was “a pity Councillor Boyd continues to do everything he can to derail this project”.
He said: “As we have mentioned before, we are a long standing local business and employer in Carnoustie and therefore, as a local councillor, he is meant to represent and support us, not just continually run us down.”
Mr Duncan said Carnoustie Golf Links went through a very detailed options appraisal before deciding on the best solution for the future, “which is the extension to the existing golf centre”.
He added: “It will allow us to have offices, bar/restaurant, professional’s shop, lockers and golf simulators all in one building in the ideal location, next to the Championship first tee.
“There is no other option, including the beachfront pavilion, that would allow us to provide the world class customer experience that we strive to deliver.
“The beachfront pavilion is not in the right place for us, would require a very considerable investment and would mean we had to operate from two locations, with all the logistical problems that would bring.”
Mr Boyd said he was “saddened” by Mr Duncan’s response.
He said: “I was merely trying to bring a positive solution for the town that I represent yet they continue to divide.
“I remind them they are not a long standing business but a charity and failing miserably with their charitable aims.
“My role is to represent and support the town’s residents and businesses not CGLMC who are wasting £4.75m on public land.
“When will they understand this land is ours not theirs and the vast majority of the town wants this vanity project stopped now?”
The Links Committee requires the permission of Angus Council, which own the links, for any alterations to its facilities and also if it plans to borrow sums of more than £200,000.
The council agreed to grant consent to CGLMC taking out a £2.95m loan with the Bank of Scotland to assist with the golf centre extension project, which would not be secured against any council asset.
The R&A and the Professional Golfers’ Association have lent their weight to the extension plans and Angus Council said the development would “further assist in securing Carnoustie as a venue for major golf tournaments”.
Critics have suggested the business case “doesn’t stack up” while an online petition calling for the extension to be scrapped has gathered 500 signatures.
