COUNCIL chiefs have “more than one” business teed up to take over Carlisle’s closure-hit golf course though discussions are at an early stage, the authority confirmed.

Demands to immediately re-open Stony Holme Golf Course and Swifts Driving Range were defeated at a city council meeting held a month after the operator Mack Golf went into voluntary administration.

Council leader Colin Glover stopped short of agreeing to re-open the club straight away but insisted that officers were “looking at all potential options”, pledging to maintain the course over the winter.

But Deputy leader Les Ticker went further, insisting that the council not only remained committed to keeping it as a golf course but that they were in talks with more than one operator to take it over.

However, he stressed that negotiations were at an early stage and was not prepared to reveal any details of the interested parties.

He said: “We are in talks with more than one operator to run the course and the clubhouse. We are fully committed to keeping it as a golf course.

“A lot of money was also spent [on the clubhouse] on it after the floods so the plan is to keep it up and running up to Christmas.

“We were planning to subsidise the course for the next two to three years so the budget is still there, but what we do next depends on what kind of offers we get.”

Meanwhile, Stony Holme Captain Martin Thompson said he felt “positive” despite the city council’s refusal to immediately re-open the course.

And heartened that the council has not closed the door on its future, he has vowed to continue the fight to save it.

Mr Thompson, who launched an online petition after the closure, said: “I was positive about the fact that the council didn’t say ‘no’ with a view to putting it out to tender in the new year. I felt a lot more positive after the meeting than I expected.

“They said they will maintain the course and the club house through to next year. The next immediate step is to get clarification on exactly what that means.

“This is not simply a question of cutting the grass. The course requires specific treatment to protect it through the winter, from issues including blight. It needs somebody who is qualified to look after golf courses and greens.”

But coun Tickner said the city council had specialist staff to carry out the work and where necessary they would “buy them in” to carry out the maintenance that fell outside their area of expertise.

Mack Golf was one of the UK’s biggest golf operators but it’s financial woes resulted in the closure of nine golf venues across the county including those in Carlisle.

Swifts and Stony Holme Golf Course have been Carlisle City Council municipal assets for 44 years since they first opened in 1974.