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.
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?”
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.”
