A CHARITABLE trust is being lined up to run Southampton’s municipal golf course in a bid to save the council cash.

A 12-year contract, worth about £3m, is set to be signed with Mytime Active in the coming months.

The charity, which already operates nine golf courses across the south of England, will then manage the Bassett course from September.

Council leisure bosses expect the move to drive up customer numbers and bring course improvements, while saving the taxpayer £350,000.

Under the contract a number of tees on the golf course would be reconstructed and there would be higher quality maintenance of the main greens.

Mytime has been given a target to increase participation by three per cent each year for the first five years.

Councillor John Hannides, Southampton City Council Cabinet member for leisure, said: “This is an exciting partnership which will see our already fantastic golf course get better, while at the same time saving the council money.”

The council had put the contract out to tender for a second time after no potential operator showed interest in a 15-year deal.

Cllr Hannides admitted that the council was “too ambitious” in the criteria it set before the worst of the recession.

The Tory-run council is handing over the management of its loss-making leisure facilities to a private firm in a bid to give them a brighter future and save the taxpayer cash.

More than 1,000 people signed a petition against the proposal amid fears that prices could rise.