A NEW organisation is being tipped to become a driving force behind sports and recreation in a corner of North Yorkshire.

Sporting enthusiasts from across the Ryedale district are being encouraged to lend their support to the group's plans.

Members of the Ryedale Sports Executive Body met for the first time yesterday to discuss ways of attracting more funding to the area and making sport more accessible to residents.

The Malton-based organisation was established in the wake of a review of sport and leisure facilities.

Its aims are to

* Co-ordinate applications for grant aid for various projects

* Ensure that quality sports development takes place, by bringing in coaches and volunteers with the aid of grant aid from Ryedale District Council

* Ensure that all sections of the community have equal opportunities to participate in sports, regardless of their age, gender, colour or where they live in the district.

The council's cultural services manager, Jos Holmes, said: "The body will be a driving force for sport and recreation throughout Ryedale.

"The partnership will bring together the various sporting sectors in Ryedale, including voluntary groups, Ryesport, education groups, and the local authority, to work together for sport and recreation."

The group will also take the lead in consulting sporting clubs in Ryedale over ideas they would like to see implemented regionally or nationally.

Organisers said the executive body would also be given a say on other issues it could affect on the council's corporate agenda - particularly crime and disorder, health and cultural strategies.

The future of many sport centres came under the spotlight last year, after claims that some were not being properly maintained.

The district council had even considered withdrawing funding from Ryesport, the charitable body which looks after the area's sporting facilities.