SHOCKING closure of Pitch and Putt at Beech Hurst Gardens
Sad news in Haywards Heath, for the District Council have seen fit to CLOSE the Pitch and Putt at Beech Hurst Gardens. In its place they are having a 'performance area' where 'entertainment' such as Brass Bands will be able to entertain the public. How many young people would choose a Brass Band performance over the chance to play Pitch and Putt?

The remaining land will be left to turn into a meadow (i.e they can't be bothered to maintain it)

Oddly, the announcement came just before the start of the Summer season, and has robbed the public of having one last round on the superb course.

Beech Hurst Gardens was gifted to the people of Haywards Heath by William Yapp. Unfortunately, Mid-Sussex District Council are the custodians, this means they decide upon any changes to the park.

Some council literature says this about Beech Hurst Gardens...
"The council's aim for Beech Hurst is to provide a visitor experience that will encourage them to spend time in the gardens, it is intended that the value of their experience is sufficient for them to want to return"
And how does closing the pitch and putt meet this aim? I'm not sure that there's much demand for Crown Green Bowls and Petanque among those under the age of 50.

It's quite the mystery why both a great social and sporting activity been taken away. The Council are supposed to be on a drive to encourage people to be more active and to improve the quality of life for everyone in the district.

There is no other Summer activity in Haywards Heath that can match the fun and laughter for family and friends than a round of pitch and putt at Beech Hurst. It's also a big blow to mothers that can no longer send their children off for an hour playing on the course whilst they moan about their husbands in peace during the Summer holidays.

The reason for the shock closure could be to do with a user survey carried between Winter 2008 - Spring 2009

Haywards Heath has a population of nearly 23,000. To get a fair idea of what people use Beech Hurst Gardens for, you'd need at least 500 respondents consisting of a wide range of ages and of both sexes.

The District Council chose to survey just 30 people.
10 were male and 20 were female.
Nearly 50% of the respondents said they visited Beech Hurst Gardens to use the children's play park. Only 2 respondents said they used the pitch and putt. Only 3 people under the age of 21 were surveyed. The survey was conducted outside of the golfing season.


Cost to remove the Pitch and Putt course
There is documentation that suggests that it will cost between £40,000-£60,000 over a three year period to remove the pitch and putt and associated fencing.

A replacement facility?
The council MAY replace pitch and putt with mini-golf, if approved, it won't be built until 2012 at the earliest and will cost up to £80,000. For that price, you'd expect it to be made of gold.

In total, it means that it could cost £140,000 to replace one type of golf with a smaller version, with at least two Summers with no golfing activity for the public to enjoy. There are no guarantees that the council will build a mini-golf facility, they'll probably waste funds elsewhere like they have a great habbit of doing.

You can email parksopenspaces@midsussex.gov.uk if you wish to tell the council what a huge mistake they've made.