Tennis club's boost with £100,000 grant

Horncastle & District Tennis Club has received the sizeable grant from FCC Communities Foundation, a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community projects through the Landfill Communities Fund.

The tennis club has been fundraising throughout the year to upgrade the club’s floodlights to LED and resurface the courts on Coronation Walk, Horncastle, and this grant will go a long way to seeing this work completed.

Shirley Sutton, Membership Secretary at the club, believes the improved facilities will make a huge difference to the lives of people living in the area and ensure the viability of the club for years to come.

She said: “This project will provide a real boost to the tennis and wider community of Horncastle.

"It’s fantastic that FCC Communities Foundation has awarded us this money and we’re really looking forward to the improvements at the Tennis Club taking shape over the next year.”

Shirley hopes the new floodlights will be ready to use before the dark winter nights set in and the courts will be resurfaced next Spring as soon as weather allows.

"We have paperwork to complete before we can sign the official agreement and then we'll be ready to award contracts,” she added, “Realistically we hope to get the floodlights done in November, but the resurfacing will have to wait until spring due to the weather.”

Horncastle Mayor and chairman of Horncastle Town Council, Matt Wilkinson, said the town council was fully supportive of the tennis club and “really pleased” at the news:

“It’s really important we’ve got strong local groups and the tennis club is an excellent asset for the town. We’re really pleased they have received this grant and I’m sure it will help the club continue to be a great facility for the town in the future.”

Penny Horne, spokesperson for FCC Communities Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the Horncastle Tennis Courts LED Floodlights and Re-surfacing project and pleased our funding will provide such a fantastic facility for people living in Horncastle and the surrounding areas.

"FCC Communities Foundation is always happy to consider grant applications for projects that make a difference to local communities and we’re really looking forward to seeing this one take shape soon.”