THE former director of golf at a club battling to stave off closure has spoken for the first time about his decision to step down.

Glenn Turner resigned from the new North West National course, at Rainford, at the beginning of April.

The club is now the subject of a rescue plan after it racked up £400,000 in liabilities. It is hoping to enter into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to fend off creditors with a five-year payback scheme.

The ambitious plans on former agricultural land and part of the old Pilkington glass works site included an 18-hole championship-length course, new clubhouse, driving range and nine-hole academy course.

The driving range and nine-hole course have opened, but the main course is presently shut. It is planned to re-open as part of the rescue package.

Turner wrote to members at the club outlining his reasons for leaving, telling the Daily Post: “I stated that not being able to have any control or say in the financial and structural future of the golf club was inhibiting my ability to fulfil the expectations of club members as their professional.”