Game, set and match to Helm Youth Group thanks to £20,000 tennis court grant

Wednesday 09 July 2008

Budding Lakeland tennis stars will be getting a smoother ride this summer after the Helm Youth Group secured a £20,000 grant to resurface and upgrade the community tennis court in Old Hutton.

And the Youth Group committee is hoping that work on the upgrade will be completed near the beginning of the school summer holidays, thus making the new facilities available right through the rest of the summer.

Founded more than 30 years ago, the Helm Youth Group now has upwards of 50 members aged between eight and 16, who take part in its weekly Friday evening get-togethers.

The Group provides a meeting place for local young people, as well as offering them the chance to take part in a range of activities, pastimes, trips and events.

The tennis court is situated on a piece of land given to the youth group by a local resident 30 years ago, and the creation of the court was originally paid for by a village fundraising campaign.

It is regularly used by all sections of the local community and has been progressively patched up over the years to help keep it in the best possible shape, but it is now in need of an extensive upgrade.

Banks Developments’ grant will cover most of the cost of resurfacing, repainting and relining the court, as well as helping to pay for improvements to its lighting, drainage, fencing and accessibility.

Sue Evans, secretary of the Helm Youth Group, says: “The tennis court is an important local facility that has been well-used by the whole village for many years, and which is especially important to our Group.

“It had reached a stage where a comprehensive upgrade was required, and there was a real danger that it would soon have become unusable if we hadn’t been able to get funding to carry this work out.

“We’re hoping that the upgrade will be finished as early as possible in the school summer holidays, so that the court is available for the maximum amount of time, and we’re extremely grateful for the Banks Group’s generosity in providing a grant which covers the majority of the project costs.”

Banks Developments has submitted a planning application for a wind farm development in the area, on land near the village of Old Hutton, to the east of the M6 between junctions 36 and 37, would be capable of generating enough renewable energy to power up to 8,340 local homes.

Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at The Banks Group, adds: "Banks’ policy is to invest and support communities in the vicinity of all our planned and ongoing operations, to ensure that these areas benefit from our presence within them.

“Well-used facilities such as this play a central role in their communities, especially in areas where few alternatives are available, and we’re extremely pleased to be able to both support the excellent work of the Helm Youth Group and to help secure the long-term viability of the tennis court for the whole village.”

Last updated: Wednesday 09 July 2008, 10:54 AM