In August Jesmond Lawn Tennis Club celebrated the news that it had received a £50,000 funding award from SUEZ Communities Trust (formerly SITA Trust) for the refurbishment of three outdoor tennis courts and external facilities. The funding was to enable the replacement of three outdoor artificial grass tennis courts which had been damaged by tree roots.
The Club’s Honorary Secretary, Jill Foster, who has lead the project, said at the time “We are absolutely thrilled with the news. This award from SUEZ Communities Trust will enable our historic not-for-profit club to overcome this large one-off financial hurdle and enable us to maintain membership rates that are affordable. The enhanced new playing facilities will significantly improve one of the key recreational facilities of the local area and provide a low-cost and enjoyable opportunity for local families, students and professionals to exercise and socialise as part of a healthy life-style.”
Pete Sessions of SUEZ Communities Trust added “We’re really pleased to provide funding towards this project which will finally deal with the problems caused by tree roots. Resurfacing the three tennis courts is an important step in the club’s development and will enable it to move forward with plans to draw in new membership and encourage less confident players to take up the sport.”
Fosse Contracts Ltd were awarded the contract for the extensive remedial work required and to replace the artificial grass carpet, fencing, net posts and nets. This work was completed in early November. Jill said “Fosse did an outstanding job with excellent attention to detail and finished the work on time and on budget. The funding means that we can continue to offer tennis at an affordable rate. For example adult Winter membership is just £55 with no additional fees for floodlight use.”
To celebrate the completion of the project a whole weekend of tennis activities was held to ‘play-in’ Jesmond’s new courts. These activities included normal adult and junior coaching and social play sessions in addition to matches against other clubs. The round robin matches between the Northumberland Club, Gosforth Garden Village Tennis Club and Jesmond Lawn Tennis Club (JLTC) on the Saturday were to recognise the support both clubs had given JLTC in allowing members to play on their courts during the 5 weeks of refurbishment. At the official opening ceremony neighbours, members and the local community were thanked for their invaluable support throughout this process.
In his speech to mark the official opening of the new facilities, Chris Lott (Chairman of the Northumberland Lawn Tennis Association) said that the funding had provided a major boost to the Club and had ensured that tennis would continue to be played in this historic and vital community facility for another hundred years.