diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 0cc0fdf013..f3651ec992 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 ## Bug fixes and other changes
 * Added validation to ensure dataset versions consistency across catalog.
+* Fixed a bug in project creation when using a custom starter template offline.
 
 ## Breaking changes to the API
 ## Documentation changes
diff --git a/docs/source/deployment/databricks/databricks_deployment_workflow.md b/docs/source/deployment/databricks/databricks_deployment_workflow.md
index 2ebe21c48e..cf5ede1589 100644
--- a/docs/source/deployment/databricks/databricks_deployment_workflow.md
+++ b/docs/source/deployment/databricks/databricks_deployment_workflow.md
@@ -253,8 +253,8 @@ The Databricks API enables you to programmatically interact with Databricks serv
 
 1. [Set up your Kedro project for deployment on Databricks](#set-up-your-project-for-deployment-to-databricks)
 2. Create a JSON file containing your job's configuration.
-3. Use the Jobs API's [`/create` endpoint](https://docs.databricks.com/workflows/jobs/jobs-api-updates.html#create) to create a new job.
-4. Use the Jobs API's [`/runs/submit` endpoint](https://docs.databricks.com/workflows/jobs/jobs-api-updates.html#runs-submit) to run your newly created job.
+3. Use the Jobs API's [`/create` endpoint](https://docs.databricks.com/en/reference/jobs-2.0-api.html#create) to create a new job.
+4. Use the Jobs API's [`/runs/submit` endpoint](https://docs.databricks.com/en/reference/jobs-2.0-api.html#runs-submit) to run your newly created job.
 
 ### How to use the Databricks CLI to automatically deploy a Kedro project
 
diff --git a/kedro/framework/cli/starters.py b/kedro/framework/cli/starters.py
index fbafbb56c1..bdbfb1e512 100644
--- a/kedro/framework/cli/starters.py
+++ b/kedro/framework/cli/starters.py
@@ -345,7 +345,6 @@ def new(  # noqa: PLR0913
         checkout = _select_checkout_branch_for_cookiecutter(checkout)
     elif starter_alias is not None:
         template_path = starter_alias
-        checkout = _select_checkout_branch_for_cookiecutter(checkout)
     else:
         template_path = str(TEMPLATE_PATH)
 
@@ -520,7 +519,7 @@ def _get_available_tags(template_path: str) -> list:
         # tags: ['/tags/version', '/tags/version^{}']
         # unique_tags: {'version'}
 
-    except git.GitCommandError:
+    except git.GitCommandError:  # pragma: no cover
         return []
     return sorted(unique_tags)
 
diff --git a/tests/framework/cli/test_starters.py b/tests/framework/cli/test_starters.py
index 7f2641da10..87c434dfd1 100644
--- a/tests/framework/cli/test_starters.py
+++ b/tests/framework/cli/test_starters.py
@@ -861,9 +861,6 @@ def test_git_repo(self, fake_kedro_cli, mock_determine_repo_dir, mock_cookiecutt
             "template": "git+https://github.com/fake/fake.git",
             "directory": None,
         }
-        starters_version = mock_determine_repo_dir.call_args[1].pop("checkout", None)
-
-        assert starters_version in [version, "main"]
         assert kwargs.items() <= mock_determine_repo_dir.call_args[1].items()
         del kwargs["directory"]
         assert kwargs.items() <= mock_cookiecutter.call_args[1].items()
@@ -910,9 +907,6 @@ def test_git_repo_custom_directory(
             "template": "git+https://github.com/fake/fake.git",
             "directory": "my_directory",
         }
-        starters_version = mock_determine_repo_dir.call_args[1].pop("checkout", None)
-
-        assert starters_version in [version, "main"]
         assert kwargs.items() <= mock_determine_repo_dir.call_args[1].items()
         assert kwargs.items() <= mock_cookiecutter.call_args[1].items()