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Daily Record
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Ayrshire tennis club to take charge of courts and net £100k to upgrade facility
The club launched a bid to take ownership of the three tennis courts earlier this year- in an attempt to stave off the threat of closure. South Ayrshire Council's Cabinet has unanimously approved a Community Asset Transfer Request (CAT) from members of Coylton Tennis Club. The club launched a bid to take ownership of the three tennis courts earlier this year - in an attempt to stave off the threat of closure. And on Tuesday, Cabinet members rubber stamped the proposals - and handed the club a £100,000 cash boost. Ayrshire Live can reveal that not only did they approve the sale of the courts for £3,000, the local authority will also stump up a £100,000 one-off grant- from their Advancing Community Asset Fund- to help bring the ageing courts up to scratch. The club, based at the Coylton Activity Centre in Hole Road, sought to become outright owners of the three courts at the site, currently owned by South Ayrshire Council. And the group, which gained charity status in September 2023, submitted a £3,000 offer for the courts, which they hoped would secure the club's future. During Tuesday's Cabinet meeting ward Councillor Brian Connolly said: 'As a ward councillor, this ticks all the boxes from my perspective. It's a solid community committee who want to take this on and we have come up with a grant to assist them in doing that. It seems to be that it's very well supported.' Cllr William Grant also told the meeting: 'As a ward councillor I totally support this.' The club will, however, still need to secure additional funds in order to match their ambitious plans to improve the courts. Cllr Grant added: 'We are talking about a £100,000 (grant) here, but there's a shortfall of £57,000. Do we know if Coylton Tennis Club will be in a position to get the rest of the funding?' Council officer Colin Love said: 'The club has been quite proactive and they've had discussions with Sportscotland and the indications from Sportscotland are fairly positive - that they would be willing to act as a match funder to any award the council can offer. 'But there are other options the club can look at. Also, we'll continue to support them in their efforts to raise the additional match funding.' In their CAT request the club outlined their rationale for the move for ownership, saying: 'The current courts are 30 years old and are becoming unsafe and less acceptable for competition playing. 'The council, who own the courts, do not have the funds to replace them, so we have been told the only way to do this is to buy the courts as a CAT which will release some separate funding and allow the club to approach other bodies to make up the shortfall in funds needed to replace the courts and bring them up to standard.' The statement continues: 'Other tennis clubs in the Ayrshire area have started to complain about playing competitive matches on the courts because they are not up to modern, and safe, standards. 'The club is approaching its 100-year centennial and if the courts couldn't be replaced, the club would have to close. This would be a severe blow to the community and would involve travelling to other parts of Ayrshire to keep playing. 'It would also mean that younger children would be less likely to take up the sport, since it is always easier to play a sport that is on your doorstep as opposed to having to travel to get to somewhere else.' The courts are also used to provide coaching from a professional coach for both adults and juniors alike, at separate times. The statement added: 'The local schools have had their pupils use the courts in the past and the club is hoping to continue that use once the courts are brought more up to date.' Cabinet unanimously agreed to the recommendations in the report with regards to the CAT request. Councillor Hugh Hunter said: 'I think it's a really good news story as the community wants to take over this asset and run it. But we're not going to dump it on them. We're giving them support and I think we are giving them really strong support.' He added: 'It's an excellent message to send out to community groups. Come along with the correct business plan, the correct community plan and we will work with you, to help you establish the organisation after the community asset transfer.'
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Dumfries tennis centre on course to open this year
A new indoor tennis centre in Dumfries is on course to open later this Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis (TSIT) project at the King George V sports complex has reached the halfway stage in its began in February on the three-court centre which will open towards the end of the is part of nationwide efforts to boost participation and will provide year-round access to tennis for players across Dumfries and Galloway. The £2.3m project is described as an important landmark in the ongoing efforts to improve access to the sport across will be the third indoor tennis centre built recently following sites in Edinburgh and Johnstone, who chairs Dumfries and Galloway Council's community wellbeing committee, said: "I am delighted to see the progress of the new tennis centre and look forward to it being completed."It will be a major community asset for us and will provide much-needed indoor facilities for tennis players in the region and beyond." 'A sport for everyone' Sportscotland chief executive Forbes Dunlop said it was exciting to see the progress which had been made."When it's opened the centre will be hugely significant for local tennis and the communities in Dumfries and Galloway," he Lawn Tennis Association said the project embodied its vision of ensuring tennis was "truly a sport for everyone".Blane Dodds, chief executive of Tennis Scotland, said: "This is a significant moment as we aim to continue making tennis accessible to everyone right across Scotland by providing year-round indoor facilities."The new indoor centre in Dumfries and Galloway is taking shape and we're all looking forward to seeing players get on the courts soon."
