Frome Selwood Tennis Club is among 148 local sports projects to secure a share of £10 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund.
Since 2011, Inspired Facilities has been helping breathe new life into tired community sports facilities and converting existing buildings into venues suitable for grassroots sport.
‘Grass Roots Tennis’ is a joint project between Frome Selwood Tennis Club and Frome Town Council 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.
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 £94 million 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.”
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’. He added: ‘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’.
Many more communities are set to benefit from the hugely popular Sport England fund with the latest round of the Inspired Facilities now open. Community and voluntary organisations, councils and schools can bid for a share of £20 million to help upgrade facilities that can be unattractive, expensive to run and difficult to maintain, and to convert existing non-sporting buildings into venues that are suitable for grassroots sport.
Applying for funding has never been easier. Based on feedback from previous applicants, the Inspired Facilities Fund is now an open programme which means projects can submit applications as soon as they are ready rather than being restricted by a specific deadline. To find out more and bid, visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.