Part of West Middlesex Golf Club may be disposed of: deadline for community groups

What can a local organisation do if it wants to be considered as a potential buyer of part of the West Middlesex Golf Club site? The key deadline is 20 November 2026. An eligible group must send a written expression of interest to Ealing Council by that date.

The council published a notice on 13 October concerning an intended disposal of land within the club's boundaries on Greenford Road in Southall. The document relates to a specific plot measuring 2.27 acres. It does not say that the entire golf course is being sold.

What triggered the process

The notice says that on 9 October Ealing Council, acting as the local authority, received notification from Ealing Council in its capacity as freeholder and landowner that it wished to enter into a relevant disposal. Because the property is listed as an asset of community value, the Community Right to Bid process under the Localism Act 2011 applies.

The interim moratorium runs from 9 October to 20 November. During that period, a qualifying group can write to the council asking to be treated as a potential bidder. The notice lists four eligible types of organisation: a charity; a company limited by guarantee that does not distribute a surplus to its members; a non-profit-distributing industrial and provident society; or a community interest company.

Where to send a request

Written requests should be addressed to Strategic Property and Investment, Ealing Council, Perceval House, 14–16 Uxbridge Road, Ealing W5 2HL, marked for the attention of Catarina Silva. The request must arrive before the interim period ends on 20 November.

Sending a letter by the deadline does not mean that the council has accepted an offer to buy. It is a formal request to be treated as a potential bidder. At this first stage, the organisation's eligibility, clear identification of the property and delivery before the deadline are the essential points.

What the later dates mean

If the council receives no written request from an eligible group by 20 November, the full moratorium will not be triggered. If a valid request is received, the full moratorium applies until 9 April 2027. This is intended to give the organisation time to prepare a proposal and raise funds. The protected period stated in the notice ends on 9 April 2028.

An expression of interest is not a purchase offer and does not guarantee that the plot will be acquired. Ealing Council's official guidance stresses that an owner is not required to sell to a community group. Once the relevant moratorium has ended, the owner may sell to whoever it chooses and at the price it chooses.

The published notice does not name a proposed buyer, give a price or explain the intended future use of the plot. At this stage, the confirmed news is the start of the statutory process and its deadlines, not the outcome of any sale. The notice should therefore not be read as a final decision about the future of the sporting site.