Huge price increases at Walsall’s only municipal golf course have been scrapped. Charges at The Grange were to rise by up to almost 40 per cent.

The course at the Arboretum Extension was due to shut this month unless a private firm could be found to manage it.

However, Walsall Council had agreed to carry on running it until the end of September, but with increased prices, while it tries to find a long-term solution to remain open permanently.

The charges would have seen playing costs rise from £6.15 on weekdays and £7.20 on weekends to a fixed £10 rate. It was also proposed to charge £7 for juniors rather than the current £4.60 and £5.25.

Leisure chief Councillor Barry Sanders said today: “We have decided to keep the prices as they are. Bearing in mind the current situation, we want to encourage more people to play over the next three months, and increasing the charges is not going to make a great deal of difference.

“We are looking at all options.”

Scores of people joined a campaign and signed a petition against plans to close the nine-hole course. Around 13,000 people use the golf course each year.