FROME Selwood Tennis Club has been given a £85,000 boost in its bid to build three new courts in Victoria Park.
The club was awarded £75,000 from the National Lottery funding for Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund and £10,000 from the Mendip Legacy fund. This means the club is now within touching distance of their £119,000 fundraising target to build the three courts.
A joint project between Frome Selwood Tennis Club and Frome Town Council called ‘Grass Roots Tennis’ was set up in a bid to raise funds to build three new tennis courts in Victoria Park to replace the worn-out courts adjacent to Weymouth Road. The courts will be available to the general public on a ‘Pay and Play’ basis and will be operated and managed by the tennis club.
The project has been awarded funding as part of Sport England’s Inspired Facilities Fund and the Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Programme. Sport England awarded the full £75,000 requested. The application was jointly made by the tennis club and the town council and funds are also being contributed by both these organisations.
The £10,000 from the Mendip Legacy fund is part of a £200,000 pot shared out between community projects in the Mendip area. Frome Town Football Club and Frome St John The Baptist PCC were other local projects to benefit.
John Price (FSTC chairman) said, “The club has been working very hard over the past two years to raise money for the courts. In addition to applying for many grants, we have run quizzes, held social events and open days, bag packed at Asda and numerous other activities – it has all been a great team effort.
“We still have the final 10% of funds to raise, but are confident that with all the support we are receiving from local people and organisations, we will reach that goal in the not too distant future.
“We would also like to thank the LTA, Frome Community Lottery and Mendip District Council Community Environment Fund for their support. This is a wonderful opportunity to increase the number of people playing tennis in Frome. It will enable the general public to play on the best facilities in the area without having to join a club’.
Sport England property director, Charles Johnston said, “The Inspired Facilities Fund has had a huge impact on grassroots sport across the country. Since 2011, we’ve invested £94million into more than 1,800 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.
“It’s great to see Frome Selwood Tennis Club join the long list of successful clubs to benefit from this fund.”
