Plans for an £18m expansion to transform Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa into a ‘world-class, multi-purpose resort’ have been given the green light.
Sefton Council has approved the plans which will see the 76-bedroom property near Liverpool construct a new two-storey clubhouse and event space with capacity for 300 guests, extended bar and restaurant facilities, a new reception building, a reconfigured leisure club, a new spa and four lakeside eco-lodges.
There will also be a new two-storey building, housing 43 bedrooms with balconies or patios overlooking landscaped gardens or the golf course, plus a further 20 bedrooms in the first-floor conversion of the current spa and leisure building – in total taking the resort to 147 bedrooms. Plans for 18 further lodges and a small residential complex are subject to a separate application.
The new spa facilities will comprise 12 treatment rooms, several relaxation areas with views across the lake, an extensive suite of thermal experiences, indoor and outdoor vitality pools and hot tubs, internal and alfresco dining, and an extensive external terrace with sunken fire pits and luxury day beds.
The resort currently extends to more than 200 acres and features two golf courses, including one 18-hole championship course, a 27-bay driving range, a golf shop and health spa. As home to the first PGA National Residential Golf Academy in the UK, it is a centre of excellence for golf, offering first-class coaching facilities and accommodation – the only one of its kind in the North of England.
Christopher King, director of CS Hotel Solutions, which bought the resort in 2016 for £20m, said: “It has been great to have the support of Sefton Council in considering and approving our plans, and we are grateful that they have been able to share our vision and ambitions for the resort. We are confident that these redevelopment plans will not only reposition the resort as a world-class destination, it will also attract both new business and an increase in tourism to the region as a whole”.
