THORNBURY Tennis Club have been awarded £50,000 of funding from Sport England to give their clubhouse a major overhaul.

Local contractors will be employed to carry out the work, which will include new changing and toilet facilities, new lighting, flooring, hot water and heating, improved storage facilities and better security.

Club chairman Keith Spalding said: “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this grant; it will allow us to reach our vision of a modern clubhouse with disabled facilities, together with an improved environment for spectators and for socialising.

"We hope to make the facilities available for local groups and schools to use as well as tennis club members, the aim being to make tennis available to all."

Thornbury and Yate MP Steve Webb added: “I am delighted to hear that Thornbury Tennis Club has been successful in security Sport England funding and is also contributing substantially from club funds in order to improve facilities for local people.

"I know that the club believes that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy playing tennis, and these improvements will give more residents in the Thornbury area the chance to take up the game”.

The club was among 324 local sports projects to secure a share of £17 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.

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 £88 million into more than 1,600 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.

“It’s great to see Thornbury Tennis Club join the long list of successful clubs to benefit from this fund.”

Many more communities are set to benefit from the hugely popular 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.

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