Royal Dornoch Golf Club plans to pay £50,000 a year into the community as part of an agreement to lease common good land to build a new clubhouse.
The deal would also see the club pay £100,000 for new sports facilities at Dornoch Academy and cover the cost of building a new bowling green which has to be moved to widen access for the clubhouse project.
The golf club and Dornoch Area Community Council (DACC) have agreed terms on a new 99-year lease for more than 200 acres of common good land on the world-renowned links.
The agreement is still subject to a public consultation launched last week and sheriff court approval, but is being seen as a milestone in the clubhouse project, while bringing long-term benefits to the town.
The club currently pays a peppercorn rent of £150 a year for the lease which was granted in 1973 for 99 years.
Since then other areas have been leased and areas of land surrendered. The new arrangement means there will be one lease granted for the land and a more up to date rental deal.
The club lodged proposals last year for a twin-gabled building to replace the original clubhouse which was built in 1909.
It had hoped to go out to tender this year to start construction. However lockdown measures meant further work on the development has been postponed until the club have more certainty regarding their finances and a return to previous income levels.
It will require change of use of part of the bowling club land for improving access and change of use of part of a tennis court for car parking.
Lease terms include the golf club paying rent of up to £50,000 a year from January 1 2023, including a yearly base rent of £25,000 with a sliding scale reduction during the first seven years of the lease if visitor numbers fall below approximately half their pre-Covid19 level.
An additional rent of £25,000 per year will be paid once the ground is broken for the construction of the clubhouse, with a similar sliding scale reduction but applicable for the full term of the lease.
Willie MacKay, the golf club captain elect, said: “The club is very happy with the outcome of the discussions and feel it is an agreement that works well for both parties, providing long-term benefits for the town as a whole and golfers near and far.
“This has been a challenging year for everyone across the world, but this is a very positive note to conclude 2020 and we look forward to the public consultation by The Highland Council being successful so that the club can go out to tender and build a new clubhouse when finances permit.“
The Dornoch Area Community Council said it voted unanimously to support the terms of the new consultation document.
The consultation launched by Highland Council runs until March 12.
A previous consultation started in January but was withdrawn after a review following a challenge that some of the terminology might have been misleading.
