Petition to save Browns Golf Club

By Carole Dennett Sep 27, 2020

A petition to save Browns Golf Course on Sandown sea front has been signed by over 2,000 people.

Earlier this month it was announced that the popular attraction will be closing today (Sunday, Sept 27). The petition blames the closure on the threat of development by the Isle of Wight Council who own the land describing Browns as “A jewel in the Island’s heritage for the best part of a century, offering ‘Golf for Everybody’ ever since top British golfer Henry Cotton designed its pitch and putt courses in the early 1930s”.

Paul Coueslant of the history group Our Sandown, who started the petition said: “’The threat to Browns is tied up with the Isle of Wight Council’s attempts to find a commercial partner for neighbouring Dinosaur Isle. The Council has never admitted that Browns is on offer as a sweetener to a potential partner, but at the same time has never assured us that Browns, or any part of it, is safe. So we draw our own conclusions.

“The fear is the Council will reach a deal with a commercial partner before any public consultation can take place, when it will be too late to save Browns. We’re asking the Isle of Wight Council to acknowledge the its unique heritage and guarantee its protection as a much-loved public asset. It’s already clear from the response that this is what many Islanders, and visitors, want to see’.

“We now have an excellent 65-page conservation management plan for the whole of Browns, published only two months ago, which doesn’t seem to be on the Isle of Wight Council’s radar as it prioritises the Dinosaur Isle plans.

“There’s enormous sadness that the team at Browns Family Golf and Cafe will no longer be there from Sunday. They’ve won the admiration and affection of Sandown for all they’ve done over the last six years to restore all the pitch and putt courses and create a vibrant, family-friendly cafe that’s been a big hit with locals and visitors alike. It’s a tragedy they’ve been given no security of tenure to carry on their extraordinary work.”

You can sign the petition here.

pic: Paul Coueslant/Our Sandown