1. Summary

This Court Development Plan relates to the site and activities of the West End Tennis Club, Dundee. It has been recognised for some time by the Club Committee that there would be a need to upgrade the present court playing facilities. This new surface and floodlights are important to maintain the tennis development in the area.

The membership numbers have been sustained at the Club despite the lack of what would be recognised as modern facilities. This shows that there continues to be a real need for this tennis facility for the local community, which contributes significantly to its leisure and health needs.

This plan gives a focus to the urgent need to upgrade the tennis court facilities and should allow others to review and give their support to the plan.

1.1 Club Aims

The overall aim of this Court Development Plan is to place West End Tennis Club in a position, now and for the foreseeable future, as a viable operation providing facilities for junior, senior and family based tennis as well as related sports and social activities.

1.2 Development Summary

The Club intends to carry out the following works.

Court Base £12,500

Court Carpet £34,000

Floodlighting £17,500

Sub Total £64,000

VAT £11,200

Total £75,200

1.3 Financial Summary

This plan to upgrade the court playing facilities and to provide floodlighting at the Club is proposed to be funded in three ways, firstly from Club funds and membership fees. The Second part will be through LTA loan funding. The final and essential funding must be through grant funding of £45,000 and the proposal is that this be from three sources, Club Vision (£7,000) the LTA (£15,000) and Sportscotland (£10,000).

WELTC Funds £13,200

Club Vision £7,000

LTA Loan £30,000

LTA Grant £15,000

sportscotland Grant £10,000

Total £75,200

West End LTC is funding 57% of the project. Contingency is built into the financial plan.

It is felt that this project and its associated funding are achievable and overall a very worthwhile cause for the benefit of sport and the local community.

introduction

2. Background

2.1 Introduction

The West End Lawn Tennis Club is located at 101 Shaftesbury Road, Dundee. The Club has been in existence for almost 105 years. Over that time it has acted as a centre for the playing and development of tennis in the west end of the city of Dundee. Recognising this history and in the light of recent events the present Club Committee is urgently seeking support to upgrade the current court surface which will ensure the future of the Club for some time to come such that it may play its part in the health and leisure provision for Dundee’s west end community.

2.2 Club History

From local records West End Lawn Tennis Club has been in existence since 1900 when the address was listed as Westpark Road and the president at that time was Mr Hendry. In 1902/3 the address then became Shaftesbury Road and the president was Mr Draffen. There has been, over the years, a number of tennis milestones recorded at West End Lawn Tennis Club. One of significant note was past member, Joyce Hume (Barclay) who played with Winnie Shaw (Wooldridge) in the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1982 and Anita Ellis who also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon. It has also been noted that in past years there have been national tournaments held at the Club and up to 1500 spectators have supported such events.

2.3 Recent Events

In 1990 new courts were installed at the Club and this caused renewed interest in tennis. The membership grew and the Club was supporting a number of players of note, as well as league teams and was able to host local tournaments for Dundee and the surrounding areas. At that time the Club intended to produce a five year plan but this was never completed as was the case with the proposal to install floodlights. This poor follow on to the provision of the new courts may be attributed to the volunteer nature of the Committee and the growing time pressures on the people involved. The overall venture would have benefited from development through professional coaching staff at the Club.

The growth of the Club was then followed by a period when it was almost at the point of closing its gates. This had been brought about by a number of factors, including the loss of the tennis coach, changes in the Club’s Committee affected by modern day time pressures, and more significantly vandalism to the clubhouse. It was recognised by a small number within the Club that if the situation was to change then action was required. The Clubhouse was secured and with cooperation from other agencies the youth in the area have become involved with the Club, using the tennis facility rather than abusing it.

The first step on the way to recovery was the appointment of a part time Coach to the Club. This person, a qualified tennis Coach, has formed a focus for many of the tennis developments within the Club. Details of the current arrangement with the Coach are given later within this plan. This coach engagement proved to be successful for both parties, with the Club seeing more junior and family members and the coach being presented with a Scottish Tennis award for “Services to Tennis”. Another move made at that time was the reduction of fees for membership, this was done in the light of the facilities on offer, most significant of which was the lack of a clubhouse. Both of these actions were taken by the committee at that time to consolidate the Club’s situation and various other steps were taken to develop the membership and with the help of the coach the membership almost trebled.

The next step was for the Committee to try to meet regularly, to monitor the Clubs’ activities and to make plans for the future. In doing this the Club engaged with agencies from Dundee City Council and Scottish Tennis as ways of seeking support and guidance. This has proved to be very helpful, especially in the encouragement given with such statements as “…your Club has great potential to develop and obtain funding…”

With the Cub’s centenary approaching in 2000 this was used as a focus to raise funds and engage the whole membership in a number of projects. These projects included the erection of new perimeter security fencing, clearing the grounds, re-establishing the gardens, renovation of the main clubhouse, and most importantly refurbishing, as far as possible, the courts. The Centenary event, which was well attended, was supported by the LTA and the Club welcomed a number of local tennis players, past and present, as well as Doddie Weir of Scottish Rugby fame. These activities along with others such as securing “Awards for All” Lottery funding for short tennis equipment and coaching programme enabled West End to be nominated “Scottish Club of the year 2000”.

After the Centenary Celebrations the Committee put on hold any grand plans for the Club until there was some period of consolidation. This was done in light of recent fluctuations in the membership and the problems of Club security and vandalism. The Club continues to be secure and there has been no evidence of vandalism. With these changes the Committee felt that the development of the Club could continue in ways which would support the demand for tennis and related sporting/social activities in the area. The Committee was supported in this by the local Community Council who felt that the facility was a significant asset to Dundee’s “West End”.

The next significant developments were undertaken in 2002 when the Club successfully applied to “Awards for All” Lottery funding to re-establish the Dundee City Tennis Tournament for junior and senior school age children. This was undertaken at the same time as the renewal and refurbishment of the court sports fencing and associated retaining wall. To tackle the sports fencing project the Club was able to attract Club Vision funding to support some of the material costs. The outcome of these projects was a very successful tournament in 2002 open to all players in the Dundee area and one which has been held at West End every year since. This has helped support the collaboration of the various Clubs in the area and the work of the Dundee Tennis Development Group, which West End actively supports.

During these years of continuous development the membership of West End has been sustained and the Club has introduced many new people to tennis, some of whom have gone on the take part in area and district level development. In order to maintain this momentum the Club applied for and was granted Club Vision funding to help support the refurbishment of one of the changing rooms including the toilet facilities, which it had not been possible to repair in the work effort leading up to the Centenary Celebrations. This was a great step forward with the Club now able to offer both ladies and gents changing facilities, which is significant in hosting matches and tournaments.

Many recognise the Club’s recent past has been a real success story but it now faces it’s most significant challenge of this its second century, one which will mean the difference between survival and closure. It is however with the recent past in mind and its many small successes in doing what has been considered to be the right things that the Committee is confident that the Club will gain the support required for the Court Development Project.

2.4 Incorporation

In parallel with the Court Development the Club is in the process of incorporation. This is being done based on Scottish Tennis, local advice and the consensus within the Club that it is the appropriate method of operation for the Club. With this the Club will in future be known as West End Tennis Club and the management is discussed in a later section of this document.

The incorporation is also timely in terms of the Club’s development plans and ownership of the Club’s grounds. The position of ownership has been established and will be used as guarantee for any successful loan application.

2.5 Testimonials

The following are comments from supporters of West End Tennis Club related to its recent activities and plans for the future.

2.5.1 LTA County Development Officer, Mandy Martin

“Facility development is one of the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) key priorities especially floodlighting of courts. West End Tennis Club is an LTA affiliated tennis club and I have been involved with the Club for several years in facilitating their development journey. They are an extremely proactive and keen club and have had success, in many areas, over the last four years or so. In relation to their facilities they have upgraded the fencing and security and redeveloped their clubhouse, much of this work was carried out by the club members. They have a good coaching programme and have strived to link, very importantly, with local schools. The coaching programme includes Mini Tennis, juniors and adults and Club teams are entered each year in the Midlands Tennis leagues. The Dundee City Tennis Tournament was reintroduced and West End hosted this event which has gone from strength to strength.

West End Tennis Club are now embarking on a project to resurface their courts and look at putting in floodlighting to facilitate all year round play at the club. They have had visits from LTA advisors, about the courts and floodlighting, and have been fully briefed on the requirements. I give my full support to this project and realise that this is the next big step in the development of the Club and one which is vital for them to keep attracting new members, run their Club programme and host teams or players for matches or tournaments.

I wish them every success in this project.”

planning

3. Development Plan

This Court Development Plan relates to the site and activities of West End Tennis Club, Dundee.

3.1 Opportunity Analysis

From the growth followed by stability in the membership over recent years it has been shown that despite the limited facilities and deteriorating court condition on offer at the Club there is a strong demand for tennis. There is therefore an opportunity to capitalise on this demand and through the provision of improved facilities, have more people of all ages actively involved with tennis. This proposal fits well with the sports strategy for the local community.

The key objective of the Club, which would be enabled through the implementation of this plan, is to provide a centre for tennis and related sports in the west end of Dundee. This is to develop tennis activities for all ages and abilities and to improve standards of play. Further, it is to offer a range of sporting and social activities for the local community, with an emphasis on inclusive participation. No other facility of this type is available in the west of Dundee.

3.2 Competitive Analysis

The Club does not face direct competition to the proposed tennis sports facilities and its objectives in the west end of Dundee. The closest competition is listed below.

Organisation	Location	Sporting Provision	Cost
West End Tennis Club	Dundee, west	Tennis and related	100%
Nigel Watson’s Tennis	Invergowrie	Tennis	175%
University of Dundee	Dundee, central	Tennis and others	200%
Swallow Hotel	Invergowrie	Fitness	400%

Table 3: Competitive Analysis

As can be seen from the table above the Club would be able to offer a unique resource in the area, at a very competitive price.

3.3 Promotion & Marketing

If this plan is to succeed then the concept, facility, and tennis must be marketed and sold at the right price to an increased membership. To do this the Club programme would include open days, recruitment events, advertising through leaflets, newsletters and local press. The marketing of the Club would be channelled through local community groups, health centres, council resources, schools and universities.

3.4 The Court Situation

It has been recognised for some time by the Club Committee that there would be a need to replace the present court surface. This replacement surface is now essential to continue playing competitive and even social tennis.

At present the Club has four artificial grass courts. These courts were laid in 1990 and in recent years have undergone major repairs no less than four times at significant cost to the Club. On three of these occasions a professional sports surface construction company was used but this has not been sufficient to address the current problems.

Given the usage of the courts it was expected that the surface carpet should now be replaced. This is a project expense that the Club would have been able to support if it were not for the frost-heave problems with the base and the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) requirements to install court floodlighting in order to qualify as a priority project.

The base for the courts was also laid in 1990 and it has been found to be inadequate for the local frost conditions. This was confirmed by the LTA sponsored survey of the courts, which recommended that the base should be replaced to their recommended construction specification. This is an additional, unexpected cost which the Club is facing as the life of the base should be more than 25 years. These problems have arisen despite the Club using LTA advice and recommended contractors.

It is now LTA strategy and policy only to support the development of tennis facilities based on the installation of floodlights or covered courts. With this in mind the Club has also included within this plan proposals for the installation of floodlighting for three of the four courts. This is an additional resource improvement but one which the Club had not envisaged and one which it cannot fund wholly from its current resources.

3.5 LTA Consultant Reports

In 2003 the Club through the County Development Officer was visited by LTA consultants to review the court and floodlighting situation. The major points from their reports are as follows.

3.5.1 Court Survey – Materials Science Consultants

The consultant made the following points as a result of his visit and more detail is available in the report.

· Due to the carpet lifting and for safety it was recommended that court number one should be taken out of use until repairs were carried out.

· The court base has been subject to frost heave due to insufficient foundation and it was found that 50mm was used, not the recommended 250mm.

· A recommended construction company should be used. (eg SEPA)

Estimates were given for the macadam surface of £70,000, artificial grass carpet of £100,000 and polymeric surface of £120,000

3.5.2 Floodlighting Survey – Ayrlect Associates

The consultant made the following points as a result of his visit and more detail is available in the report.

· Planning permission for floodlighting of the total area will be difficult and an installation for floodlighting three courts is recommended.

· The electricity supply to the Club may have to be upgraded.

· A recommended construction company should be used.

An estimate was given for floodlighting three courts of £26,000

3.6 Court Development Works & Suppliers

The list of project works proposed as part of this court development plan is given below along with the costs associated.

· Court Base £12,500

· Court Carpet £34,000

· Floodlighting £17,500

Sub Total £64,000

· VAT £11,200

Total £75,200

In addition to the projects listed the Club plans to continue to upgrade and renovate the Clubhouse and £1000 is budgeted for this in the financial plan which is detailed in section four of this plan.

The suppliers the Club has used at this stage for estimations for the various court development works are listed below.

Court Base Tayside Contracts Ltd

· Court Carpet Palmyra

· Floodlighting DC Lighting Services Ltd

Alternative suppliers have and will continue to be consulted to ensure the best value for the Club and the various funding bodies.

3.7 Risks & Issues

This plan may for some seem ambitious in terms of the project works and spending but this reflects the benefits which are outlined. This development plan proposed is to equip the Club with the playing facilities for tennis and other sports in an area where strong demand has been shown over a number of years. This provision will ensure the Club’s future for decades to come.

In proposing this plan the Club is intending to contribute to its success and funding with its own moneys, future fund raising, and through a loan arrangement guaranteed with the Club’s site ownership. This means that the membership, as with other projects, have taken a stake in the success of the venture and are not expecting the results to happen without some serious efforts on their part.

planning

4. Financial Plan

The financial plan to support this project is given below.

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Total
Income
Membership Fees	6,500	8,000	8,500	9,000	9,500	41,500
Fund Raising		3,500	1,500	1,500	1,500	8,000
Total	6,500	11,500	10,000	10,500	11,000	£49,500
Expenditure
Clubhouse		1,000				1,000
Running Costs	3,000	3,500	3,500	4,000	4,500	18,500
Loan Repayments			3,000	3,000	3,000	9,000
Sinking Fund		3,500	3,500	3,500	3,500	14,000
Total	3,000	8,000	10,000	10,500	11,000	£42,500
Net Cash in/(out)	3,500	3,500	0	0	0	£7,000
Project Costs
Base	12,500					12,500
Carpet		34,000				34,000
Flood Lighting		17,500				17,500
VAT (Court Dev)	2,188	9,012				11,200
Total	14,688	60,512	0	0	0	£75,200
Project Funding
WELTC Funds	7,688	5,512				13,200
Club Vision	7,000					7,000
Loan (LTA)		30,000				30,000
Grant - LTA		15,000				15,000
Grant - Sportscotland		10,000				10,000
Total	14,688	60,512	0	0	0	£75,200
Balance	0	0	0	0	0	£0

Table 4: Financial Plan Analysis

4.1 Financial Plan Support

The membership and fee incomes will be increased as part of this plan but the estimates are considered conservative at this stage. This will be done by an initial increase in the fees of 20% based on the new courts with floodlighting and through increasing the membership numbers.

The Club will make use of its own funds set aside over recent years and will continue with fund raising over the coming years to provide project contingency.

The Club will take on a loan from the LTA and arrange to have this guaranteed with the Club’s site ownership.

Further the Club will seek and secure grant funding of £32,000 as listed below.

Club Vision £7,000
LTA Priority £15,000
Sportscotland £10,000

planning

5. Membership

In recent years there have been around 100 members of the Club. This is made up of all ages and abilities, with the youngest coaching pupil at five years of age and the oldest player a lady in her eighties. Should the development plans be progressed it is expected that this number would increase and the local community would benefit in terms of its general fitness and social interaction.

Ages	Male	Female	Totals
0 – 16	26	16	42
17 – 39	11	8	19
40 - 65	10	17	27
65 +	1	2	3
Totals	48	43	91

Table 1: Current Membership Analysis

From Club records the membership had declined to the low in season 1996/97 which coincided with the departure of some of the Club’s long standing committee members. The facilities of the Club had also been allowed to deteriorate and the growth since may be attributed to activities such as renewing the nets at the start of the season in 1996.

Season	Membership
1996 – 1997	52
1997 – 1998	79
1998 – 1999	111
1999 – 2000	98
2000 – 2000	118
2000 – 2001	111
2001 – 2002	107
2003 – 2004	102
2004 – 2005	91

Table 2: Recent Membership Figures

It should be recognised that the Club has developed the facilities to the best of its abilities with very limited resources. This is highlighted elsewhere in this document and may be summarised in the list of projects below.

· Security Fencing installation 2000

· Mini Tennis equipment provision 2000

· Sports fencing renewal 2002

· Dundee City Tennis Tournament 2002

Clubhouse upgrading 2004

One further point in the Club’s favour is the sentiment and good will with which it is held by some of the local community who have grown-up and grow old playing tennis at West End. This history is something the Club will strive to continue.

In summary despite the limited development of the facilities and the deteriorating state of the courts membership has been sustained. This clearly demonstrates the demand for a tennis sports facility in the area.

Supporting strategy

6. Aims & Objectives

The overall aim of this Court Development Plan is to place West End Tennis Club in a position, now and for the foreseeable future, of a viable operation providing facilities for junior, senior and family based tennis as well as related sports and social activities in the west of Dundee.

6.1 Objectives

To achieve the overall aim stated above the following are the immediate and medium term objectives of the Club.

To provide a tennis and related sports centre in the west of Dundee for the development of tennis activities for all ages and abilities and to improve standards of play.
To retain existing and attract new members in the categories of junior, adult, and family.
To offer a range of enjoyable sporting and social activities for the local community, with an emphasis on inclusive participation
To operate and manage the club though a Board of Directors and to engage the services of a Head Coach who would be responsible for the development and overall improvement of tennis at the Club.
To ensure surplus funds from the running of the Club are reinvested into the Club for its continuing development.

In order to assess the success of this Court Development Plan, its implementation and execution these objectives would be specified in more detail by the Club. The attainment of these objectives would be part of the measures placed on the Head Coach, as well as the overall management board which would have responsibility for the steering and overall strategic direction of the Club.

supporting strategy

7. Club Management

The Club is currently run as a voluntary sports facility and this may not be consistent with the needs of today. The Club’s committee is therefore in the process of incorporation. This will mean that the Club will become a company limited by guarantee and be managed by a Board of Directors appointed by the membership.

These Directors will be responsible for the overall management and financial viability of the Club with the development of tennis being led by a Club Captain / Head Coach. The directors will set policy, rules and regulations for the Club and support the Head Coach in his/her development work.

The board would be responsible for the engagement of the Head Coach who would be retained on a service basis. This Head Coach would be responsible for the club’s tennis coaching, which would be his/her own to develop as seen fit for the period of the appointment.

It is understood that the success of the Club is related to the management ability of its Board and to this end the assistance of other external agencies will continue to be sought, specifically the County Development Officer and through this CDO the resources of Scottish Tennis and the LTA.

It is expected that the Head Coach would be fully qualified with a LTA license and be comfortable in building a supporting sports infrastructure including coaching assistants.

The Head Coach may sponsor and be supported by a development committee made up of the Club’s team captains and a junior committee whose role would be to ensure that some junior members help direct the Club and to gain experience in the Club’s management.

It is recognised that it is through the abilities and enthusiasm of the Head Coach and their relationship with the Board, that the Club will achieve its aims. It is felt therefore that a critical element to the success of the Club is the appointment of the Head Coach.

supporting strategy

8. Tennis Development

The main activity of the Club is tennis and over the playing season the Club offers a number of opportunities to play tennis in a coaching, competitive or social environment. Each of these approaches help towards improving the tennis playing standard at WETC. Even the more social events help to encourage those who would not normally get involved with the sport to take up a racket and have a hit. The Club is affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) through Tayside Tennis and Scottish Tennis.

One of the objectives of this plan is to outline how the tennis activities could be improved and extended to meet the needs of present and future members. To do this the potential of the Club must be explored and an inventory of the resources developed including the facilities, members and finances. With this and an understanding of the tennis needs of the current membership, potential coaching schemes may be identified and marketed through the Club. This should be done in partnership with local schools, universities and the local authority.

8.1 Coaching

The Club through the relationship it has with a qualified coach has provided coaching to various levels of ability. Currently and in recent years coaching has been provided on a weekly basis to junior beginners, junior improvers, ladies and families with sessions to suit each. In addition to this the Club has offered junior coaching at the school vacation times of spring, summer and autumn and these activities have been well attended. This coaching is provided on an hourly basis at very reasonable rates and there is no formal contractual arrangement with the coach. This coaching provision and general development by the coach has however helped to increase the membership over recent years and this was recognised in 1997 with a special award for services to tennis being presented to the coach.

Each year the Club has provided a number of juniors for successful selection for the District and Regional coaching. This has lead to further selection for some junior members for national coaching. These members have gone on to compete in various local and district tournaments. The County Development Officer has also given guidance on how to develop the coaching further with suggestions from Dunlop, Nestle, Yoplait and other national schemes. The Yoplait scheme as well as the Nestle Ladder has been running within the Club with inter-club singles matches also taking place. In addition, the club has hosted the Dundee Tennis Development Group’s Starter Tennis initiative. From the current coaching position it is felt that there is demand for additional provision and ideas in this regard include those listed below.

Potential tennis coaching developments for junior and senior players:

· Mini tennis and associated starter tennis tournaments

· Ladies morning sessions with crèche

· Veterans tennis

· Tennis for the disabled

· Schools and University tennis sessions

8.2 Competitive Tennis & Related Events

The WETC tennis event calendar runs from April to October and starts with an “Open Day” which is normally held in May. Since its inception the event has supported the LTA’s “Play Tennis” initiative. This event is able to offer prospective members a chance to take part in coaching and fun tennis events and to raise funds for the Club. It is normal for the Club to organise two “American Tournaments” during the tennis season and again these are a mix of serious and social tennis along with a day out for the family and some fund raising activities.

The most serious tennis activity run internal to the Club are the Club Championships when the Club trophies which in some cases date back to 1903 are contested. These Championships include competitions in the categories of junior boys and girls, singles, under 12 and under 18 as well as adult gents and ladies singles, doubles and mixed doubles and masters doubles. The format for these is knockout competition with the exception of the under 12 juniors which is a round robin format. The conclusion of this activity is a Finals Day with a social and fund raising BBQ for all, which is held in August just before the start of the school term.

Potential competitive tennis developments for junior and senior players:

· Internal leagues for juniors and seniors

· Team squad tennis with advanced coaching

· Extended tennis season with floodlighting

· More accessible competitive tennis for non-members

· Social tournaments with BBQ and other activities

8.3 Tennis Team Activities

For many years the Club has supported a number of teams within the Midlands Counties of Scotland league structure with Junior, Gents and Ladies teams. This has been more successful in previous years but there should be the opportunity to recapture this success and for the Club to provide teams not only in the Midlands area but in the Scottish arena as well. The Club will again, for season 2005, be entering junior, gents and ladies teams into the Scottish Cup, National League, Midlands Leagues and Henderson Vase.

The site in Shaftesbury Road has the potential to be developed to serve a number of sporting activities which could then be run on a commercial basis and managed professionally. It is expected by the present committee that the main activity of the Club would remain tennis.

8.4 Potential Complimentary Sports Developments

The Club could take advantage in the future of the facilities available to offer additional sporting opportunities to its members with such sports as table tennis.

To make most use of the Club’s facilities it is felt that strong links should be made with the local community and such groups as listed below.

· Local schools

· Local authority

· Dundee Universities

· Local health centres

· Local businesses