FOR more than ten years, two of the six courts at the Bromelton Street grounds of the Beaudesert and District Tennis Association grounds have stood unused.
That’s about to change due to a Building Better Regions Fund grant from the Federal Government.
Wright MP Scott Buchholz announced on Thursday that the Association would receive $97,483 through the fund to replace the dilapidated courts with new hard surface courts and upgrade lighting.
The news was welcomed by Association President Darren Thorpe who said members “were delighted and overwhelmed”.
“We have had this project in the wind for some time and really appreciate Mr Buchholz’s help in getting the grant.
“We will be proceeding with this project immediately.”
The total cost of the construction of the new courts is expected to be in the vicinity of $195,000.
“The Association has raised more than $97,000 towards the project,” Mr Thorpe said.
“We have been fund raising for about five years and we were fortunate in receiving a $35,000 grant from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund and $10,000 from the Scenic Rim Regional Council.”
But the “clincher” was the grant from the Building Better Regions Fund.
“I’m hopeful that we may have the two new courts completed by Christmas,” Mr Thorpe said.
“That would be the ideal and we’re already working on getting the project underway.”
The Tennis Association has 72 members. Fixtures are played three nights a week and senior coaching is also offered.
“We play all year round,” Mr Thorpe said.
“There’s no season for us.
“We have a short break at Christmas but apart from that the fixtures roll on all year.”
The four courts currently used by members have a synthetic surface but the new ones will be hard surface courts.
DESTINATION Scenic Rim, the organisation formed through the amalgamation of a number of local tourism associations, was also awarded a Building Better Regions Fund grant in the latest round.
The regional group was granted $20,000 for a research project.
Mr Buchholz said the research would lead to a better understanding of tourism in the region to help attract more visitors, drive growth in the sector and support local businesses and jobs.
The projects funded in the Scenic Rim were among the 295 granted a total of $300 million across regional Australia in Round 5 of the program.
“These projects are expected to create an estimated 9,900 jobs during the project period,” Mr Buchholz said.
“This latest funding round takes our total support through the BBRF to $1.38 billion across nearly 1,300 projects.”