Mapledurham Lawn Tennis Club Aces Sport England Grant

The Mapledurham Lawn Tennis Club (MLTC) is celebrating a £38,800 Sport England grant for improvements to Mapledurham Pavilion and tennis courts. This together with a £27,700 contribution from MLTC provides a total of over £66,000 for major improvements.

The grant will be spent on resurfacing and re-fencing the tennis courts, adding a verandah and disabled toilets to the pavilion, and will also contribute towards improved disabled access and parking bays. The area around the courts will start to be re-landscaped as part of an ongoing project.

The Club hopes to carry out the renovation work as soon as possible to help attract new members, to begin coaching for special needs youngsters in September and wheelchair players as a phase two in 2015. Anyone interested in more information should email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This is a big step forward in raising funds to replace Mapledurham pavilion. The Council has pledged capital towards the project, and the Warren and District Residents’ Association has so far raised around £40,000. Donations towards the project qualify for GiftAid, and can be made via the Virgin Money Giving website to the Mapledurham Recreation Ground Charity.

David Maynerd, Relaunch Project Manager of the Mapledurham Lawn Tennis Club said:

“This award by Sport England is part of their 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Legacy programme. So I am not only really excited about the prospect of making great improvements to our Tennis Club but also excited to be part of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Legacy.

By improving the quality of our Tennis club facilities we hope to attract many more players; in particular creating new coaching programs for juniors, special needs youngsters and in phase two of our development plan, wheelchair users.”

Lead Member for Culture, Sport and Consumer Services, Cllr Paul Gittings added:

“As the Trustee of Mapledurham Playing Fields, Reading Borough Council would like to congratulate the Mapledurham Lawn Tennis Club on their successful funding bid.

“This is a great step in enhancing the playing fields’ facilities and I hope that it encourages even more local residents to support the Council and local groups who are working on a wider programme of improvements.”