Posted by: Michael Garnett on 15-JUL-2007

does anyone know latest developments at troon. i know that many from australian clubs wrote to the shire council in support of this court

Posted by: Sav Cremona on 03-AUG-2007

Hi Mike, The last email correspondence came in early March, as below. --------- Dear all, I'm glad to report a minor victory. This morning several of us were at the meeting in Ayr of the South Ayrshire Council's Planning Committee, and heard the Councillors vote unanimously to REFUSE Suncourt Limited's listed building applications to demolish the real tennis court. Richard Johnstone made a statement in support of his application - basically arguing that the cost of restoration was now very high and that we hadn't shown we could afford it. Three of us made statements as objectors, with all the familiar reasons against demolition. In reality our statements probably made no difference at this stage. The Report was so strongly against demolition that no Councillor had any dissenting comments/questions. Our position now is that, having averted demolition, we remain happy to sit down with the owners and discuss restoration. Indeed, a preliminary meeting is planned for next week with one of the owner's advisers. The chairman of the meeting referred specifically to the 800-plus objections sent in from around the world. So, to all of you who have objected to demolition and otherwise encouraged us, please accept many thanks from our group. Regards, Francis Hamilton --------------------- Please pass on my best to others at RMTC. Hope you are hitting them well! regards Sav

Posted by: James Wyatt on 03-AUG-2007

Jan Collins has provided the following report- The Committee unanimously rejected the demolition application. The grounds were principally that (a) demolition was contrary to Council policy of protecting and preserving all listed buildings wherever possible, and (b) a group of local real tennis enthusasts had expressed strong interest in restoring and operating the court. The Committee also referred to the numerous objections (over 800 in all) submitted to the Council by real tennis enthusiasts worldwide over the last four years. This means that the threat of demolition has fortunately receded, for the time being, thanks to the tireless efforts of Francis Hamilton, ably supported by Iain Tulloch, Bill Breckenridge and real tennis enthusiasts worldwide. Plans are now being formulated to restore the court, under the leadership of Jan Collins. Jan is a well-known local promoter and player of racquet sports, and is the Chairman and Club Manager of the Prestwick Tennis & Fitness Club (near Troon). A survey of the structure of the court has been made by Structural Engineers Forbes Leslie. A further survey has been made by Barry Coupe(who started playing as a boy at Canford some 46 years ago) – Barry was responsible as architect and project manager for the re-commissioning of the Bickley court at Newmarket, and the second court at Cambridge. ARP Lorimer, local architects with an excellent track record in restoring historic buildings, are co-ordinating the project, and the initial estimate from their quantity surveyor shows that the cost of restoration is likely to be in the region of £400,000. A new Troon Real Tennis Club is being formed, and discussions with the owner of the court over the basis of a long-term lease are at an advanced stage. A worldwide fundraising campaign will get underway shortly.

Posted by: Temple Grassi on 03-AUG-2007

Please let "the world" know when it is time to write checks-I'm sure you will Good work-this is avery good thing!