Work will soon get underway at the site of a former golf course on the Lincolnshire coast to transform it into a “haven for wildlife”. Sandilands Golf Club was once home to a popular 18-hole course which, after opening in 1894, was the first links golf course in the county.

Just before its 125 year anniversary, the golf club’s owners Sandilands Leisure went into liquidation, citing a lack of numbers, business rates and a lack of local support. The club was then sold to the National Trust in 2020 and plans were drawn up for a nature reserve on the site.

Work is due to start at Sandilands, near Sutton-on-Sea, at the beginning of September to transform the former golf course into a 25-hectare (62 acre) wetland nature reserve. The site will over time see the creation of open water, islands, reedbeds and ponds to encourage more wildlife and migratory birds to return to the area, including marsh harriers and curlew sandpipers, among others.