YORK’S biggest amateur sports club looks set to be broken up into five independent charitable trusts.

The changes are being proposed at York RI, which was founded in 1889 and has 3,000 members, to avoid it being crippled by the loss of rate relief under new Government rules.

President Frank Paterson said the RI council had voted 7-6 in favour of the break-up, but the proposal still had to be put to members at its annual general meeting, which takes place at 7.30pm on April 29 at its New Lane site.

He said a counter proposal to develop charitable status for the York RI as one entity was defeated at the council meeting, but it would probably re-surface as a members’ proposal for consideration at the AGM.

The Press reported in February how the RI was in danger of losing £70,000 in annual rate relief, which it currently received because it was registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC).

Mr Paterson said that after March 2016, it would be too big to meet CASC criteria because its annual turnover was more than £100,000, and all such relief would therefore be lost, making the club quite unviable.

RI members play sports and activities including badminton, squash, golf, bowls, football, rugby, music, shooting and sailing at five locations across the city, including its Queen Street headquarters, Pike Hills Golf Club at Copmanthorpe, sports pitches at New Lane, Acomb, bowling greens in Faulkner Street, Holgate, a rifle range at Hessay and sailing on the Ouse at Naburn Mr Paterson said yesterday that the following motion would be put to the AGM: “To facilitate the continuation of the sporting and cultural facilities and services currently provided by York RI it is proposed that five independent charitable trusts with similar objectives to York RI should be developed at Ashton Lane, Naburn, New Lane, Pikehills and Queen Street to hold in trust and manage appropriate assets and undertakings to be transferred to them prior to the winding up of York RI as a single legal entity.”

He said alterations to the Rules of York RI must be approved by two thirds of members present and entitled to vote at a general meeting He added that since he first became President in 1978, his emotional commitment to York RI had been second to none.

“It is a unique organisation that has given so much to the community for more than a hundred years,” he said.

“But the reality is that changes are essential and inevitable and I firmly believe that the proposals are the best way to safeguard the facilities for the future.”