Tennis centre hopes to serve up sport's new stars

The new centre is scheduled to open next year

A new indoor tennis centre in southern Scotland is to go ahead after funding was put in place to meet its rising costs.

It was initially hoped the three-court facility at the King George V complex in Dumfries could be built for about £1.5m.

However, that rose to more than £2.3m due to rising costs in the construction industry.

It has now been confirmed that it can go ahead thanks to support from a range of organisations.

The lion's share will come from the Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis fund operated by the LTA, LTA Tennis Foundation, sportscotland and Tennis Scotland.

Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Holywood Trust have also agreed to provide funding.

The facility is seen as part of wider efforts to improve Scotland's infrastructure for the sport following the opening of new venues in Elgin and Edinburgh recently.

The area already has 11 registered tennis clubs and nearly 1,000 playing members with the hopes that that can rise significantly.

Dumfries and Galloway Council leader Gail Macgregor said she was delighted to see the plans move forward.

"Having such an accessible facility in our largest town in the region will not only be excellent for local tennis players, but will attract people into the region, boosting the local economy," she said.

Sportscotland chief executive Forbes Dunlop said it was an "important development" for tennis in Scotland.

The centre is scheduled to open its doors next year.