Developer tees up plans for West Linton course

A holiday park operator is set to save half a Lothians golf course that was forced to close last year amid dwindling membership.

Half the Rutherford Castle course is being saved. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Richmond Wight Estates has extended its Scottish portfolio with the purchase of the 200-acre course at Rutherford Castle, West Linton.

The developer, which runs three residential and holiday parks in Scotland, plans to build luxury lodges with an accompanying restaurant, spa, clubhouse and swimming pool, while also retaining nine holes from the parkland course.

Located 18 miles south of Edinburgh, Rutherford Castle was opened in 1998 by Henry Wallace, who farmed the land for 15 years before constructing the course. Following Wallace’s death, the club was sold on to developers in 2003.

It had been running at a loss “for some time” with financial support from its owner, Bett Homes, and had just 56 members in its final year of operation in 2014. The site has planning permission for a hotel, but proposals for luxury accommodation and conference facilities never came to fruition.