A SCOTTISH public tennis court once branded a "shambles" by Andy Murray has been allocated almost £100,000 for upgrades.
The East Kilbride courts were called out by tennis champion Murray in 2021 after an appeal from a local.
"@JudyMurray @andy_murray @JamieMurrayTV Hi can you please help," Twitter user Allan Kay wrote.
"This is our tennis courts in East Kilbride our council can’t help. It’s been left to ruin and left full of bins now and kids have nowhere to play tennis apart from paying a club membership at private club."
Replying, Murray labelled the Whitemoss Tennis Courts a "shambles".
But now, a funding package of £92,814 has been granted from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to revamp the courts.
The funding was conditional on the council meeting a range of obligations set in place by the LTA.
These include using a booking software for the facility called "Clubspark", having a sustainability commitment to maintain the courts to a playable standard, and having adequate funding for resurfacing – the guideline for the fund is £1200 per court, per year for 15 years.
READ MORE: Andy Murray pays emotional tribute to gran after Davis Cup win
Other conditions include selecting and implementing an operational model for court bookings and activities, committing to having one hour per week of organised free tennis activity, and committing to recreational competitions offered through local tennis leagues.
Councillors on the Community and Enterprise Resources committee approved those conditions.
The funding will mean that there is a long-term solution in place for the tennis courts to be enjoyed by locals.
Local councillor David Watson (East Kilbride West) welcomed the funding but requested that the one hour of free use could possibly be extended.
He said: “This is a great report, and a great opportunity for tennis in East Kilbride. It’s great that we’ve got the funding to do this.
“I’m thinking that an hour a week of free tennis activity is pretty light, is there maybe an opportunity at some time to increase that?”
READ MORE: Andy Murray pokes fun at Jack Draper after Davis Cup victory
Councillor Joe Fagan (East Kilbride Central North) praised the plans and said: “Local residents, young people and others all got in touch to share with the council and SLLC their views about the importance of these tennis courts.
“The council does not have the resources to deliver the level of investment the community needs but we have been able to leverage over £90,000 from Tennis Scotland’s Parks Renovation Fund.
“Everyone involved in putting together this bid should be applauded for their ambition and creativity and I am delighted the bid has been successful. This is great news for tennis and for grassroots sport in East Kilbride.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel