Day 3

Our two workers have managed to drill 1000 holes in the surface of the existing surface and then have the unenviable task of filling each hole with some fine pebbles. These holes will act as a drain for water that flows through the tarmac.

Once this job has been completed, they intend to drill/dig trenches for the floodlight ducting.

After that, a layer of bitumen will be set down before the tarmac is placed above this. As the traditional green and red paint cannot be painted onto tarmac until the temperatures and moisture in the air are right, the courts will then be painted white on a temporary basis. The full painting will take place in March/April 2008.

Work starts

Following the final third team mens match against Lutterworth on Sunday, Fosse Contracts moved in on Monday 29th October to commence work. The initial work is to drill holes at 1 metre intervals over all the courts. As you can see, the nets and posts have been removed.

More photos as work progresses.

Background to Tennis Regeneration

A tennis club has been in existence at Holt Drive since the 1930's, originally as Fisons Sports & Social Club, but more recently as Loughborough Greenfields, a club owned by it's members after it was purchased from Fisons in 1999. As often happens with clubs that are run by volunteers, the success of the club and membership numbers has risen and fallen over the years, but more recently, driven by active members, notably Steve & Fran Nicolaidis but assisted by people such as John & Kath Sweet, Paul Warren, Danny Gillett and Linda Lucas, the club has gone from strength to strength. Membership numbers have increased, there is now rapidly-growing junior and "Mini" tennis and 2 of the 3 men's teams won their divisional titles in the 2007 summer Leicestershire LTA league.

In November 2007, the tennis AGM, chaired by Geoff Brookes, agreed that the club should create a business plan and apply for funds to re-surface the tennis courts and to install floodlights in order that the membership numbers could increase even further by extending the hours when tennis could be played. The tennis committee, with the help of the main club committee and with the backing of the LTA now have a £23,550 grant and an interest-free loan of £35,000 for the project which has a total cost of £78,000 (the balance from Charnwood Borough Council, the main club and tennis funds). The project started on 29 October after the application for funds was submitted in July 2007.