A POPULAR city farm will be transferred from council control into the hands of a new charitable trust, leading councillors have agreed.

Brooks Farm, in Skeltons Lane, has been council owned and operated since its inception in the 1990s.

But, because operating the farm is not a legal requirement for the council, its budget has dwindled to slightly more than £71,000 a year.

Cabinet members last night decided that a charitable trust independent of the council be set up to run the farm on the condition that access remains free for residents.

The trust would then lease the farm from the council, paying a nominal fee.

Once the farm is in the trust's hands, the council would not be able to deal with the site without the consent of the Charity Commission.

Cllr Geraldine Reardon, cabinet member for leisure sought reassurance that the farm would not be made "vulnerable" as a result of the decision.

But council leader Chris Robbins said the the move would “ensure the park's future.”

The farm, which has a number of animals including goats, sheep and rabbits, is popular with families.

In 2006 four-year-old Paris Stott won a competition to name a llama at the farm, calling him Merlin.

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