Missing Links: London's golf courses have land to house a million people

It’s bizarre but true (apparently). London’s golf courses could provide the land for homes that could house a million people.

An interesting debate on housing and infrastructure website CityMetric suggests that in Greater London there are 131 courses covering almost 20 square miles in total.

Over a larger area, within the M25 boundary, there are 189 courses covering almost 30 square miles, and accounting for over three per cent of the total land.

The information has come from a site reader and CityMetric’s editor, John Elledge,  admits the statistics are unverified - however, they throw up an interesting possibility of golf courses being used to help solve part of the capital’s housing shortage. 

Elledge calculates that even adhering to minimum space rules there would be room for homes that could accommodate a million London residents using no land other than that currently taken up by golf courses.

“We’re never actually going to do this, of course, and even if we could we probably shouldn’t: even if golf club memberships are falling, some courses will survive, and anyway open space is a good thing” says Elledge. 

“But the point is clear, all the same: London is keeping a lot of land free for golf. I remain unconvinced that, in the midst of a housing crisis, this is actually a good thing.”

You can see the article and the calculations here.