AN increase in fees may mean a long-running bowls club has to move out of its current home.

Helmsley ‘Short Mat’ Bowling Club play indoors at Helmsley Town Hall over the winter season, starting in October each year.

In the current 2016/17 season, the club uses the hall several nights a week for practice and for matches in the Ryedale league and the Kyle Valley league.

This season the charge for the club has been £800 - but next season, for the same usage, they could be looking at a bill of £2320.

The increase is due to the withdrawal of a discounted group fee by the Town Hall trustees and a move instead to a flat hourly rate for all hall users.

The short mat bowls club, formed in 1990, were initially allowed to use the hall for free, but over time contributions to the running cost of the hall were sought.

This grew from £500 rent in the 2012 season to £800 the next year, where it has stayed until now - though the club has had to reduce its use of the hall over the last two years by ending their Tuesday afternoon practice in order to save £720.

David Alder, chair of the bowling club, said it was an important social club for Helmsley but they would struggle to pay the increased costs.

He said that options including using the hall less, increasing membership fees and increasing the entrance fee for league games are all being considered, but their efforts to meet these new fees are like “trying to square a circle”.

Falling membership of the club is also an issue, but he added: “Membership peaked in 2000 with 42 members and while current membership is slightly lower there are still sufficient members to run the three teams. However new members are always wanted and made to feel welcome.”

Ian Pattison, chair of the Helmsley Town Hall trustees, said that the Town Hall is a listed building and costs a “very substantial” sum to maintain - £81 per day, or £30,000 a year.

“The trustees receive no funds from the Town Council towards this and must levy charges to ensure it is available to all.

“The trustees are all volunteers and are working very hard to develop the Town Hall including carrying out essential maintenance such as rewiring and replacement of heating systems.

“We have a duty to run the Town Hall on a fair basis and have put in place objective hiring costs. This is not a case of singling out an organisation for a price increase.

“It reflects the unsustainably low historic charge which has been levied.”