Alrewas
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Alrewas
Tennis Club
From wasteland to Wimbledon
Nestling in the corner of a sleepy
Staffordshire village, Alrewas Tennis
Club has risen from a patch of derelict
land to provide two all-weather, floodlit
tennis courts for all members of the local
community.
The path to success has not been a
simple one. We caught up with current
Chairman, Ross Greig, to find out more
about the club’s development, and the
committee’s plans for the next few years.
The origins of the club date back
to 2009, when a group of local tennis
enthusiasts were discussing the lack of
local, community tennis facilities. Many
of the group were travelling to places
like Burton-on-Trent or Lichfield to play.
Others had simply given up playing.
Like most good ideas, the concept of
a village tennis club was conceived over
a few pints at the local pub. While many
such ideas quickly fall by the wayside,
this one struck a chord and the group
decided to investigate the feasibility of
such an idea.
Led by founding chairman, Kevin
Wilkinson, the ambition was clear –
to make free tennis available to all
members of the local community.
A good idea … but where will it go?
The first question was about finding
a potential site for the courts. The centre
of the village was already densely
populated and building plots were
few and far between. Using their local
knowledge, the team assessed a small
number of potential sites – with one
quickly becoming a clear front-runner.
The group discovered that a patch
of boggy land running between the
local cricket club and the A513 trunk
road was still owned by the local Parish
Council. Serving no other purpose than
collecting the odd well-struck six, it
seemed to fit the brief. The park was
also home to the local football team, and
with space available to build two courts,
this would centre all of the village sports
facilities in one place. It was serviced
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by a good-sized car park, with plenty
of pedestrian access and there was the
potential to share some amenities with
the cricket club too.
“We were lucky to receive such a
fantastic amount of support from the
local community. Both the Cricket Club
and the Parish Council were totally
supportive of the idea. We held an open
day in May 2013 to gather feedback
on the concept and received over
120 signatures of support from local
residents. This was crucial in supporting
our Sport England grant bid.”
With the backing of Sport England
Inspired! Facilities, a loan from the
Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and
permission from the Council, building
works began in January 2014 – with the
courts becoming fully operational in
spring 2015.
“It was an incredible effort by all
of those involved. I wasn’t personally
involved in the committee until 2017,
and since then it’s been fascinating to
hear about the original development
progress from all of those founding
committee members.
With all the issues and hurdles
presented, there would have been
plenty of groups who would have given
up at various points. Their tenacity saw
them through, and the village now has a
superb facility for all current and future
generations to enjoy.”
Let there be light!
Having completed the initial
build and managed to develop a solid
membership base, the next phase of
the development programme kicked
in. During 2017 the club planned to
paint the surface and add state-of-
the-art floodlighting to the courts to
enable more play, all year round. With
additional support from the Landfill
Communities Trust and increased
fundraising effort by the committee all
new elements were installed in time for
the 2017 winter season.
“As a community facility, this will
enable us not only to extend the hours
available for playing tennis, but also to
offer the courts for out-of-season use
by other groups such as the Alrewas
Colts football team, the Alrewas Scouts
and the Cricket teams. The design of
the lighting has been carefully chosen,
with low-rise posts and minimal light
overspill, so while the courts will be
well-lit, the surrounding areas will not
be affected.”
Plans for 2018
“Having completed the core of the
development plan, there are no major
works scheduled … for now. This
means we can get on with the business
of increasing our membership and
utilisation of the courts. We want to
see them busy! We’ve also just signed