Famed Scottish golf course at 'critical risk' of erosion to get work
- A historic golf course in North Berwick, Scotland, has received approval for urgent coastal defense work.
- The project aims to protect the course and town from coastal erosion, which worsened after Storm Babet.
- Work will include installing gabion baskets and restoring dunes around key areas of the course.
- The West Links course is a major tourist attraction, drawing 12,000 visitors annually to the town.
Urgent work to protect a vital stretch of North Berwick's historic West Links — one of the world's oldest golf courses — is set to get underway after winning approval from the East Lothian Council's planning committee.
Councilors agreed that coastal erosion along Scotland was a "big ticket issue" in the town and unanimously approved the application for new coastal defences at the world-famous golf course at a meeting earlier this month.
New coastal flood defences can now be installed around the 13th and 14th greens, as well as the third tee area, to help safeguard the site against the "critical risk of coastal erosion."
The project will include the reinstatement of existing gabion baskets, the installation of new gabion baskets and mattresses, dune restoration and other associated works designed to strengthen the shoreline both on the green and in public access areas.
Stuart Bayne, general manager of North Berwick Golf Club, said they had been working on the project "not only to save the golf club but the town from rising challenges," adding that pressure on the coastline had continued to grow following the widespread damage caused by Storm Babet in 2023.
"We're custodians of this wonderful course for a short part in its long history. We managed to do a lot of work throughout this and last year to protect not just us but the town and we hope to grow that twofold," Bayne said. "I was delighted at the planning meeting with the council that, after two years of work, after Storm Babet took about four metres of greens and tees, it was approved.
"The work doesn't stop now, now it all goes into engineering, it goes into the town and renourishing those dunes."
The works will use "hidden engineering," with coastal grasses to be planted alongside, allowing coastal defences to blend naturally into the landscape while providing added “reassurance.”
The West Links is the 13th-oldest golf course in the world and was recently ranked No. 10 in the Golfweek's Best classic courses in Great Britain and Ireland. The course opened for play in 1832 and was designed by David Strath and Ben Sayers.
Gill Hanse, the architect behind renowned courses such as the 2016 Rio Olympics course, has also joined the club as retained architect to help "polish and protect" the site.
At the planning committee meeting, Councilor John McMillan, provost and cabinet spokesperson for environment, economic development and tourism, noted his personal history with the course, as well as its worldwide profile, recalling that he had recently seen a poster on the London Underground featuring the course's 13th hole.
The planning committee heard that the site sat within North Berwick’s conservation area, though it contained no listed buildings or significant monuments.
North Berwick Golf Club also noted that throughout two public consultations, only one minor objection was raised about a potential redesign, and said prior to and during the application process, they had worked well with council officers.
Councillors noted that the West Links was not only historically important but also a key contributor to the town's economy and tourism, attracting 12,000 people annually specifically for the course, who then, in turn, helped boost spending in the town.
Councilor Kenny McLeod added that the course brought a "huge income" to the town, and was excited to see the club look to "protect the course for future generations."
Councilor Shona McIntosh did express some concern that the plans might be premature without the council's wider Coastal Change Adaptation Plan in place, which is due to come in later next year.
But upon hearing the supportive arguments from the planning officers, applicants and other councillors, she agreed that the proposal should go ahead due to the "immediacy of action" required and commended the club for their funding and thought into the work.
Bayne said that work on the coastal defences would start this winter, aiming to take advantage of lower tourist numbers and hopefully gentler storms.