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Aberdeen City Council proposals to work with a private sector developer to rejuvenate Hazlehead Golf Course have passed a major milestone.
The full council has voted 28-13 to support in principle a partnership with The MacKenzie Club to enter into a lease agreement to improve the course and turn it into a global attraction.
The in-principle support for the arrangement will now require the City Solicitor to report to the Resources Management Committee on 10 March on elements of the lease deal which are still to be finalised.
If progress report on resolving outstanding issues is accepted by Resources Management Committee members, the matter will then go in front of the full council for a final decision by elected members.
City Council Leader Councillor Kate Dean said the proposed 99-year lease arrangement with The MacKenzie Club presented a golden opportunity to plough millions of pounds of investment into the renowned course.
She added that the staged approach to a final decision at a future full council meeting allowed time for the remaining issues to be resolved.
Councillor Dean said: "This is potentially such an exciting development for the city but obviously there are still some concerns in some quarters which the council has listened to. The tender should not be formally accepted by the council until all reasonable and necessary safeguards are in place."
She said land issues, ticketing and pricing arrangements, and accessibility details were among the matters which needed to come back in front of the council before a final decision could be made.
Councillor Dean added: "We have to be absolutely certain that the council's interests, citizens' interests and golf players' interests are fully protected before we can authorise our officers to sign the lease.
"Hazlehead Golf Course needs major investment and for that we need a private sector partner. The council cannot do it on its own. We need to be innovative to make it happen and to open up Aberdeen to the world-wide golf tourism business."
(CD/JM)
