Sports pitches in Dorchester are increasingly being looked after by the clubs which use them – rather than the town council.

The Weymouth Avenue field is already being maintained by the town’s cricket club and now the Sandringham field is about to be taken over by Dorchester FC.

In return the town council is reducing the fees it charges the clubs involved.

The town council’s management committee heard on Tuesday, July 10 that it had been planned to let the cricket club manage the field from next year but because the club felt it was ready to do so has been looking after it since April.

At Sandringham the town football club will take over operational management of the field there from September this year to May 2019 when it will be reviewed.

Deputy Town Clerk Steve Newman said the experiment with the cricket club had been working well and it was likely that the town council’s specialist equipment would soon be transferred to the club.

He said the take over of the grounds had saved the council money in other ways – by not replacing a groundsman who had resigned in February. When salary, materials and other items were taken into account the town council will see a net reduction in its budget of £20,600.