Sports clubs in the Vale of Glamorgan will be asked to take over their sports pitches or face bills for maintaining them – with some given deadlines as early as September.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council wants to recover the costs of maintaining sports grounds at sites which are used exclusively by one organisation or group.

Organisations which are single users of council facilities are now set to be given deadlines to take on the facilities themselves if they do not wish to pay the council the costs of maintaining the grounds.

The plans affect eight bowls clubs, three rugby clubs, two cricket clubs and six football clubs in the Vale.

Around Penarth, the potentially affected clubs include Belle Vue Bowling Club, Murch Bowling Club, the Penarth Athletic Field, the Cwrt y Vil playing fields, and Murchfield's football grounds.

The bowls clubs face deadlines of September 1 to take over the management of their sites, while deadlines for the rest would be decided at a later date.

Vale of Glamorgan Council’s cabinet will be asked to sign off these plans on February 18.

The cabinet will also be asked to endorse a reserve fund for clubs taking over buildings for the first time which would cover major unexpected costs to the buildings for the first five years of operation if the clubs are not at fault.

Dave Knevett, Vale of Glamorgan Council Operational Manager for neighbourhood services, healthy living and transport, said: “A series of meetings to explain the proposed changes have been held with sports clubs likely to be affected, with each club now having an opportunity to meet individually with the council.

“It is important to remember that year on year the council is facing tougher challenges in delivering a wide range of services in the face of increasing pressures and reducing budgets. That being the case, this council, like many others in Wales, is unable to continue to provide the level of subsidy to outdoor sports provision that it has in the past.

“Exploring different ways of working, including the transfer of responsibilities in appropriate circumstances to community groups is a key element of the council’s strategy moving forward as it addresses difficult budget priorities.

“Following the successful transfer of responsibilities for five libraries to community-based organisations and looking at a number of successful sports clubs across the Vale of Glamorgan who operate without any subsidy from the Council, it is hoped that the majority of clubs currently using council facilities will be able to continue to provide opportunities for all to participate in sports activities.”