Tennis club secures £10k to update dilapidated clubhouse

Read and Simonstone Tennis Club, which is situated off Carleton Avenue, has received £10,000 in the form of a National Lottery Awards for All grant.

Built in the 1970's, Read and Simonstone Tennis Club has been up and running for almost 100 years and is a bastion of the local community. However, its wooden clubhouse is now in dire need of restoration.

The club has recently undergone a change of management, and with Christine Conner now chairing the club’s committee, a decision has been taken to open up the facilities to other local organisations who will be able to use the clubhouse.

Speaking about the National Lottery grant, Christine said: “As a committee we are passionate about sport and encouraging people to participate in it. We feel that we have the basic structure but need funding to make the club somewhere where people can come and enjoy the facilities and the beautiful countryside which surrounds it.”

The club’s committee has received an additional £5,000 from Ribble Valley Borough Council and are awaiting the result of further applications from the Lancashire Environmental Fund and Tesco supermarket.

It is intended that the funds will upgrade the clubhouse facilities including providing electricity and gas to the clubhouse, which it has so far been without.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans has extended his congratulations to the club.

“It is fantastic news that Read and Simonstone Tennis Club has been awarded the maximum grant from the National Lottery ‘Awards for all’ pot.

“The club has been serving the community for many generations but is in a dire state of disrepair, the grants they have received will help to secure the club’s future. It is testament to Christine and the Committee that their efforts have proved so fruitful and I wish the club every success.”