BARROW is set to get its first all-weather floodlit tennis courts thanks to cash grants worth £103,000.

Hawcoat Park Sports Club is set to build an all-weather tennis centre which will be available for schools, community groups, coaching, Barrow Tennis League and for hire by members of the public.

The only other tennis facilities in Barrow are the grass courts at West Mount. No other courts are available for use by the public and the nearest are in Ulverston.

The Tennis Hub is being built thanks to a grant of £68,146 from FCC Communities Foundation - a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community projects through the Landfill Communities Fund, as well as funding from Sport England, the Sir John Fisher Foundation and Cumbria County Council.

The money will be used to renovate the existing hard courts at the Hawcoat Lane club.

The courts have been out of use for several years and had fallen into disrepair.

The project will provide six new all-weather courts with three of the courts also benefitting from the upgrade of the existing floodlights. Hawcoat Park also has grass courts which will be retained.

Keith Allen from Hawcoat Park Sports Club said the new facility will make a big difference to the area.

“This project will provide a real boost to the people of Barrow and surrounding area," he said.

"It’s fantastic that FCC Community Foundation, Sport England, the Sir John Fisher Foundation and Cumbria County Council has awarded us this money and we are really looking forward to our Tennis Hub taking shape over the next few months.”

Mr Allen Ali Greenhalgh from Cumbria CVS, Emma Broadbent from Active Cumbria, Councillor Derek Brook, and club chairman Paul Burns.

Penny Horne, FCC Communities Foundation grant manager for Cumbria, says: “We’re delighted to be supporting the project and pleased our funding will provide such a fantastic facility for a wide range of people across the Barrow area."