East Renfrewshire Council is preparing to bail out its struggling Culture and Leisure Trust.

The local authority’s cabinet heard how a ‘letter of comfort’ must be written to allow the Trust to continue providing services in its sports facilities, libraries and community spaces, including the Barrhead Foundry.

A projected overspend of £277,000 for the year 2017/18 was forecast in the Trust’s latest financial monitoring report and the council has now agreed to plug the funding gap at the end of this month.

An increase in funding from the council was also confirmed in a letter to the Trust late last month.

Local authority bosses and members of the Trust are locked in talks over a new management agreement as the current deal comes to an end this year.

An independent report detailing how much funding the Trust needs will also be published in a bid to secure the future of cultural and leisure facilities and activities in East Renfrewshire.

But the council’s chief executive, Lorraine McMillan, said: “The Trust need to look themselves at how they are managing their budget.

“We want to see the Trust succeed and we want to make sure they have got enough funds to do what’s right.

“The Trust was set up to increase its income and, over the long term, it has more opportunity to do that.

“We do allocate funding to the Trust for any loss of income. Part of the report is just checking that we have given them sufficient income.”

Councillor Paul O’Kane, deputy leader of the council, added: “We want the Trust to succeed but we want to be ambitious.

“I think it’s important that we do this work to look at the financial sustainability of the Trust and that we look to the future.”

In a report to the cabinet, the council’s head of accountancy, Margaret McCrossan, claimed it was “necessary to issue a letter of comfort to the Trust” to allow provision and development of services.

Ms McCrossan also confirmed that an additional £239,000 has been set aside to support the Trust.

A planned savings target of £110,000 has also been deferred.

It comes just weeks after opposition councillors blasted plans to spend £26million on a new leisure centre in Eastwood.

Conservative councillor Jim Swift claimed that the Trust “won’t work” if the council chooses to “saddle them with a new leisure centre.”

The council is set to consult residents to gauge whether a new facility would be supported.

A spokesperson for East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure Trust said: “The council and Trust work in close partnership to ensure our valued sport, leisure and culture services are the best they can be for residents.

“The Trust is still in the early stages of its development and, whilst a small shortfall has been projected following a particularly challenging year, the council has shown its commitment to supporting the Trust to grow and develop in the years ahead.

“An independent review of the level of funding provided by the council to the Trust is currently under way to ensure it is set at an appropriate level to allow the range and quality of services delivered to continue to improve.”