Plans to turn Brandon Wood Golf Course into a nature reserve could move a step closer next week when Coventry City Council's cabinet votes on the proposal.

The course has been closed since Covid and currently costs £70,000 each year to maintain.

Councillors will be asked to agree to the demolition of the existing clubhouse subject to obtaining planning consent from Rugby Borough Council when they meet on Tuesday (January 6) along with registering the 158 acre site as a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) habitat bank. The sale of these BNG units will help fund the development.

It is also hoped to build an outdoor education centre to the north of the site. Money generated from this will further fund the creation of the nature reserve which will be overseen by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

A report written by officers ahead of the meeting explains that Biodiversity Net Gain was introduced by Defra in 2024 as a mechanism whereby developers could offset any biodiversity loss through the purchase of BNG credits. This in turn provides a significant new income stream.

The report adds: "This is the basis of the business case for creating a nature reserve at the Brandon Wood. The value of units is not fixed and varies based on market supply and demand but typically ranges from £20,000 to £35,000. Factors like habitat quality, location, and size influence the final price.

"Assumptions have been made for the purposes of the commercial model, with units costed at a conservative flat rate of £25,000, however there is potential that they could sell for more or less than this. We can have a level of confidence given some of the habitats being created are of high value e.g. wetlands which demand far higher unit prices which can be in excess of £50,000."

While the golf course is large enough to generate up to 304 BNG units worth around £8.5m, the addition of an outdoor education centre would bring that number down to 214.

The report goes on: "There is a lack of regional supply of publicly-owned BNG sites that are currently registered. If this land is not provided by public bodies such as local authorities, it is likely private landowners will directly benefit from selling units which we are already seeing in the sub-region. These may well be sites that aren't accessible to the public.

"Brandon Wood nature reserve provides a significant opportunity to offset BNG and create a publicly accessible site for people to enjoy. It is proposed that the site could be used to offset existing developments that Warwickshire are seeking to identify alongside future developments such as Greenpower Park where significant offset of units is required."

When the plans were announced earlier this month, Cllr Jim O'Boyle, the council's portfolio holder for jobs, regeneration and climate change, said: "We made a commitment in the Climate Change Strategy to do all we can to support nature recovery, and this site presents a significant opportunity to do that at a scale rarely seen."