BRADFORD & Bingley Rugby Football Club and Bradford & Bingley Cricket Club have voted at separate extraordinary general meetings to divorce themselves from Bradford & Bingley Sports Club.

The rugby club went first and their meeting was chaired by chairman Peter Rae, who outlined the reasons why they needed to be independent from their parent club.

Questions were then directed to Rae and secretary Nick Patterson for half an hour before a vote took place, with the 44 members in attendance and 12 by proxy all voting in favour of pulling away from the sports club.

Two days later, the cricket club held their extraordinary general meeting and they also opted unanimously to be a separate entity from the sports club.

Bradford & Bingley Cricket Club secretary Colin Chapman said: "A steering committee, which includes representatives of the cricket club and the rugby club, has now been set up and they have had regular meetings with representatives of a benefactor who will pay off the debt.

"It is early days yet, and we are still waiting for more information, but the cricket and the rugby club will both have to pay more of the overheads that were previously borne by the sports club, such as general rates, water rates and insurance etc."

David Markham, the cricket club's representative on the JCT600 Bradford League, said: "The decisions made by the rugby and cricket clubs mean they will be run as separate entities from the sports club but they will continue to use the clubhouse in the way they do now.

"The plan now is for the clubhouse to be managed by a small committee composed of rugby and cricket club members.

"It would seem the options for the clubhouse are a lease agreement for a tenant; to be sold separately; or run by a steward employed by a charitable trust, who would have an independent chairman.

"We have been in talks with the Bradford League, who want to know if we can see the forthcoming cricket season through, have access for cricket teas and whether we can stage the 2015 Priestley Cup final. We hope to do all of these things."

It is not believed that the new situation affects either Bingley Bees Hockey Club, Bradford & Bingley Canoe Club – who both use the Wagon Lane premises as a base – or Bingley Harriers, who use the club as a starting point for training runs.