Closed golf venue to reopen as a footgolf facility

A municipal golf venue that closed down in 2015 when the council stopped subsidising it is likely to reopen as a footgolf course later this year.

The Riverside Park Pitch and Putt closed two years ago when Southampton City Council said it could no longer afford to subsidise the golf, which was costing it £15,000 a year.

It is thought that the council is working with Mytime Active to ensure that the facility can reopen.

At a Friends of Riverside Park AGM, chair Doug Perry said he hopes that a nine-hole pitch and putt course, alongside the footgolf facility, will open this July.

He said there were also plans for a mobile café, with seating, where people will be able to “have a cup of tea, with sandwiches, and where you’ll be able to watch the river flow past.”

A Southampton City Council spokesperson said: “We are working with Mytime Active on a licence to provide the pitch and putt and footgolf. We hope that, if all goes well, the facility will be open by the summer.”

Last year a sign was put on the clubhouse that stated: “Regrettably the pitch and putt will not be opening this season.

“We are currently looking at options available to us to open in the future. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

The council said at the time: “We are currently looking for a partner to be able to run the facility.

“Unfortunately this will mean that the pitch and putt will not open as usual and will remain closed until such a time when the council can find an interested party to run it.”

Mytime Active describes itself as a social enterprise helping people access healthy lifestyles through affordable community leisure, health and wellbeing services. “We offer quality services at excellent value for money and reinvest surpluses for social good,” said a spokesman.

It currently runs 16 golf courses in England and is committed to at least half of them offering footgolf.