Rutherglen Tennis Club were yesterday celebrating after South Lanarkshire Council granted them 'heads of terms' for the land they need to build their ambitious 'Project 100' facility.
The decision means the club have access to land that they need to build covered courts and a new clubhouse at Overtoun Park, in a project they say will benefit the whole community.
Club president Gareth Ellor was delighted with the decision, but warns that there are many more hurdles to overcome before the project can come to fruition.
He said: "We're really pleased with the decision, but it's the first of a series of hurdles, so we're still a long way off.
"The heads of terms are conditional on a detailed planning application and we've obviously got to pull together the funding to build it, so there's a huge amount of work still to be done.
"It's by no means certain that it will happen, but without access to the land we just couldn't have taken it to the next stage, so on that basis it's a hugely important milestone.
"A lot of hard work has gone into this, and it really energises and galvanises the team to crack on and progress the design and planning application.
"A big part of that will be even greater community consultation engagement than we've undertaken so far."
The club are keen to crack on with the next phase of the project, and will consult extensively with their local community.
Ellor said: "Now that we have heads of terms that gives us security on the site for three years, so we have a three-year window to build it, basically.
"The next stage will be to develop the detailed design, and as part of that we really want to collaborate with the local community, with local residents, and try to make sure the facility is the best it possibly can be.
"Our proposal was fundamentally based on the idea of a community hub.
"Once we have the design of the facility we can put the planning application in, and then that's another big milestone, because obviously we'd need to get approval, and then we'd be seeking funding.
"There are still quite a few hurdles left, but we have a clear direction now."
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