The process behind such transfers is highly complex, and so Sport England have designed a tool which provides a step by step guide through the stages of the process for community groups.

An example of a club who have undertaken such a move is Bury St Edmunds Rugby Football Club, who have secured a freehold for their stadium.

Having held the lease on the ground they wanted to secure their future by owning the facilities as well as improving upon them.

Their chairman, Philip Torkington, said: "We have had a very good relationship with the council over the years, particularly as we are a community based club that supports rugby, football and has major links with local schools and colleges.

"Securing the premises was critical to the club's main aim of achieving financial sustainability and independence.

"While the process was made easier by our good relationship with the council, had this toolkit existed when we started it would have really helped us fully appreciate the complexities of the process right from the outset."

It is a particularly crucial time for such a tool given that the current coalition government are championing the "Big Society", the idea that Government should devolve power to community groups where possible in the belief that individuals and community groups are better at running their services than civil servants.

Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson said: "I want as many community sports clubs as possible to have control of their own assets, this updated guide will help them achieve this."

Richard Lewis, the chair of Sport England, added: "For a club to have ownership of its own sporting facility, whether it is a playing field or clubhouse, can provide immense security both financially and practically.

"However, the process of obtaining an asset from a local authority can be long and arduous.

"By breaking the process down into manageable sections, this toolkit will help make it less daunting and let clubs focus on their main goal – getting people playing sport."

Sport England's support in this area is echoed in its Places People Play Programme, which lists the protection of playing fields and inspired facilities as two of its core strands.

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