Coventry City Council is transferring responsibility for the management of several of its major sporting facilities to a non-profit making charitable trust from 1 April.

The new trust, to be known as Coventry Sports Trust Ltd, will take over the management of Coventry Sports Centre in Fairfax Street, Foleshill Leisure Centre and Brandon Wood Municipal Golf Course.

All buildings will remain in council ownership, but because they are past their best the local authority will continue to take responsibility for major items of repair.

The council has agreed a grant of £1,620,900 for 1999/2000. The figure will be reviewed annually. There will be extra money totalling £450,000 from other council sources.

The trust will be run by a board of twelve unpaid directors under the chairmanship of councillor Dave Edwards. The directors will include an accountant, a trade union officer, a former local authority chief officer, an experienced leisure manager, a solicitor, a national sports coach, a community and a Pro-Vice Chancellor from Coventry University.

The council’s policy makers rejected the compulsory competitive tendering route in favour of trust status after the success of a similar venture involving the Midlands Sports Centre and Centre AT7, which is being run by Coventry & Warwickshire Trust.

In a report to councillors, senior officers say that charitable trust status attracts new sources of funding. They say the potential benefits are also illustrated by the turn round in the fortunes of the Belgrade Theatre since the appointment of a truly independent board.

"Trust status provides an opportunity to involve members of the local community in the management of facilities through appointments to the board of directors, bringing new business skills and reflecting the interests of the community we are seeking to serve," says the report.