The historic Suffolk venue is looking to the future after work began on a new clubhouse.
Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club General Manager Ben Tawell is thrilled that work to build a state-of-the-art clubhouse and five luxury villas has begun.
Ipswich-based construction company SEH French joined representatives from the historic Suffolk venue earlier this month to mark the start of the works, which will see the 1,020 sqm new clubhouse, public café and public toilets built on-site.
Complete with a sloped, living roof, the A+ energy rated building will help futureproof the golf club while making the sport more accessible to the community.
We caught up with GCMA member Ben to find out more about the project…
How exciting is it to see this work get underway?
Exciting is an understatement! The project itself started well before my tenure at the club with first talks happening in late 2018, so it has been a long time coming for many involved at the club.
The project gained permission in 2021 for this to go to a Judicial Review. Pleasingly, the permission stood, however took the club into an area where due to external world issues, build costs went through the roof (no pun intended!). I then started my tenure at the club in June 2022.
Due to the external issues, it meant a re-do of the design to modify it to a workable budget. After many little changes, and Section 73 submissions, we got to an agreed position at the end of last year to start the complete project.
To finally be in a position where the works have started this year is a very proud moment for all involved. All the hard work and efforts have been worth it and we all can’t wait to see the progress on-site.
What will your role be in the ongoing project?
I will be overseeing the progress with our project manager John Richardson. John has a very experienced background in this area, and an added benefit is that he is a member of the club. We’ll both be in liaison with the construction team and the site managers on a regular basis. I’ll also be attempting to get on with the regular day job. I think it may be a busy 18 months!
How will you minimise disruption to the member/visitor experience while work is
ongoing?
We have already started this by working closely with the council, as the first thing to go was the club car park! Fortunately, there is a council car park located adjacent to the club, so we have been able to come to an agreement together to help support parking for members for free.
We also have very good relationships with the contractors, who are very aware that we have a club running at the same time as the construction of the new clubhouse, and are being very amenable when we have a challenge to face.
The experience itself on the course will not be hindered at any stage of the build so this shouldn’t disrupt the experience in this aspect — plus you’ll get to see the progress going on first hand when visiting!
“I’ll also be attempting to get on with the regular day job. I think it may be a busy 18 months!”
– Ben Tawell
Are you confident the new development will honour the history of FFGC?
This is of high importance to the club, being the fifth oldest club in England. We will be looking at this as the project progresses, in how we can continue to honour our history within the build, but at the same time making sure we focus on the future of the club in the new surroundings and create further history going forwards. A fine balance!
To commemorate the moment and add to the history of the club, we have set up timelapse cameras to capture the progress throughout the builds. This will then be uploaded to members and social media streams every few months, with a final full video of the build kept in our archives.
What will the benefits be for members and visitors once the work is completed?
From gaining a reception point as you enter the club to updated facilities in the changing rooms to a fully new and efficient clubhouse, there will be plenty of benefits for members and visitors coming to Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club.
One big change will be our members lounge and function room being separated in the new build. Having a dedicated members lounge and dedicated function room will be a big benefit for both the golfers and the function goers. Currently we have one room which has to cater for both, which no surprise, can cause an issue from time to time. To offer them both dedicated rooms is a big plus.
Our pro shop will also be in the same building (used to be separate to the clubhouse), which again, will only enable an easier access to facilities for all.
What will this development mean for the club’s reputation once completed?
Once completed, we would like to think the reputation of the club will only grow. There are plenty of other things away from the build itself which we will need to make sure we put in place to achieve this; however, the team are confident and ready for the progression.
We have been very conscious in making the facility as sustainable as possible and being as environmentally aware throughout, being that the club is on an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and therefore our reputation on doing the right things in this area is very important to ourselves as well as the local community.
With that, the clubhouse will be fully electric, have a green roof as well as solar panels, and we are re-using the soil from the initial works on the course. The latter will save over 300 journeys back and forth through Felixstowe and will benefit the environment.
Within the local community, we also see the reputation only growing as there are community amenities within the build itself. There will be a public café, public putting green, public toilets and a viewing point all accessible to the general public.
This will hopefully attract further people stopping for a bite to eat on their walks down the sea wall, and have a couple of putts without having the pressures of coming into the club itself.
