Managers of a doomed country club were accused of "running it into the ground" at a meeting over the future of its site.

Around 600 people packed into a meeting last night to learn about the future of land at Bushey Country Club after Hertsmere Borough Council announced late last year that it would be closing.

Hertsmere MP Oliver Dowden was joined by council leader Morris Bright, council chief executive Donald Graham, Hertsmere Leisure Trust (HLT) chief executive David Brame, and all 11 Bushey ward councillors.

The club will close on April 1, after the council and leisure trust decided to close it because of losses of £685,000 last year. HLT took over the site in 2011.

Watford Observer:

More than £6 million has been invested in Bushey Country Club since the council took it over in 1996.

But at the meeting last night, members accused management of "running the club into the ground".

Shelley Williams, a member at the club for nine years, said: "I think this club has been left to run down because the site has so much value. In my time here, my membership fees have never gone up."

Read more: Country club to close due to unsustainable financial losses

Mr Brame, who joined the leisure trust 18 months ago, denied the club had been left to fall into its state purposely.

He said: "It's never been a planned closure. But we can't improve Bushey Country Club. Perhaps investment in the site in the last few years could have been done better.

"But golf clubs have been in decline as has the membership so its been difficult."

Watford Observer:

The trust's four other sites made £630,000 profit last year.

Oliver Dowden spoke of the importance of keeping the site as an open green space.

He said: "Here in Bushey we have the best of both worlds. We have open countryside but we are also so close to London. But best of all, we still have that sense of community.

"We need to defend our green belt and although this is a decision for the borough council, I want to make sure that residents voices are heard and should be heard at every step of the process."

Read more: 'Our green spaces are very precious' - dismay at country club closure

The meeting was a rerun of one held at the country club earlier this month. Demand for places was so high that around 100 people were unable to get in so a second meeting was called.

Cllr Bright reiterated that no decision has yet been made about the future of the country club site.

The country club is to close in April, but the council say that the land will be kept open to the public while consultation takes place.

Watford Observer:

Car parking charges could be implemented in in the club's car park for those who are not using the site to ensure that the site does not become abandoned while 300 bollards are to be put in to stop encroachment onto the land.

Only the buildings and the car park are built on brownfield land. The rest of the site is green belt.

Cllr Bright said this was now an "opportunity" for people of Bushey to have their say and to look forward to what's to come.

The meeting was organised by residents group the Bushey Forum. People are encouraged to suggest their ideas for the site through the forum. Details can be found on the Bushey Forum's website