A golf club in south Staffordshire is to undergo a major revamp because the planned HS2 line will cut a path through the middle of the course.

Whittington Heath Golf Club near Lichfield has unveiled plans to build a new clubhouse and practice range, create five new holes, remodel a further five holes and erect a car park and other new facilities as a result of the impact caused by the high-speed rail line.

The proposed route of HS2 will bisect the 18-hole course and result in the demolition of Whittington's historic clubhouse, greenkeeper's compound and halfway house, using around 8.1 acres of the existing land there.

New access will also be required as the current route from the A51 will no longer be possible.

Member-owned Whittington Heath Golf Club is claimed to be one of the oldest in England and originated in 1886 with the construction of a nine-hole course.

The site was once the venue for prestigious horse-racing events and a track is still visible there.

The redevelopment has been designed by Lichfield-based architecture practice Brownhill Hayward Brown with additional planning consultancy from the Birmingham office of consultancy Bilfinger GVA.

Another sketch of the planned new clubhouse
Another sketch of the planned new clubhouse

A report by the agency said: "The construction of the HS2 railway line involves the demolition of the club's existing clubhouse and greenkeeper's compound and the severance of the existing golf course.

"The planning application seeks only to allow the club to re-provide the existing facilities that would be lost as a result of the construction of HS2.

"The site is within the West Midlands green belt. It has been demonstrated that the construction of the buildings proposed is not 'inappropriate'.

"In addition, very special circumstances have been demonstrated which outweigh any harm that may arise from either the construction of the buildings or any of the other works required to re-provide the club's existing facilities.

"The proposals would bring about significant ecological enhancements, including the creation of approximately ten hectares of new heathland habitat.

"The location and design of the buildings proposed on the site have been carefully chosen to minimise their impact on the openness of the green belt and on the wider landscape in the surrounding area."