EXMOUTH’S Cranford Sports Club has emerged victorious in its efforts to build homes on some of its disused tennis courts and to embark on an overhaul of facilities.

The historic club, initially formed in 1878 as a tennis club, had stated the sale of the surplus tennis courts was vital to put it on a “sustainable financial footing”, and planners handed it a win on its double-plan submission.

East Devon District Council’s planning committee considered the club’s overhaul plan and its proposal for eight homes as separate applications, and approved both.

The plan for the eight properties, which look set to be built on an area where five outdoor tennis courts currently sit, was an outline application, meaning a more detailed version will need to be submitted and approved before any building actually commences.

As part of a legal agreement linked to the application for the eight homes, it was stated that £535,000 would be paid towards the sports facilities. It said £260,000 would be ring-fenced for refurbishment of the two courts and the creation of the new one (which must be completed within 18 months of building beginning or before the first occupation of one of the properties, while £275,000 would be put towards additional sports infrastructure improvements.

While there were fears aired about the loss of land that could be used for sport, the club stated out of its 800 members, only 20 played tennis, with another 10 doing so on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Furthermore, it said it had worked with Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to confirm that its overhaul plans – that include refurbishing two of the existing courts and building a third – were suitable to meet demand in the town.

Because the club’s plans include building a new exercise studio and new wet-changing facilities, it was felt by the majority of the committee that the overall provision of exercise and wellbeing facilities was acceptable.

Addressing the committee, Jill Anderson, who chairs the Cranford Club, said because of its community amateur sports club set-up, it was “limited” on the fees it could charge.

“We’ve spent a long time working with Sport England and the LTA on the feasibility in terms of what can be done to make the club sustainable,” she said.

Councillor Ian Barlow (Independent, Sidmouth Town) spoke out against the application, raising fears that “once you lose land that can be used for leisure, you never get it back”.

But counterpart Councillor Yehudi Levine (Liberal Democrat, Dunkeswell and Otterhead) said: “I don’t see this as losing something, as people can play tennis indoors in the town.”

The club’s facilities are now run by LED, a charitable trust, which called the collaboration a “match made in Devon”.

Joanna Fowler, a director at Eagle Investments, also addressed the meeting. She said she had an option to purchase the land subject to planning permission being granted, and that as part of the agreement, her firm had previously paid off around £420,000 of bank debt owed by the club to prevent lenders foreclosing.

She added that she expected to pay around £1.4 million in total, including the aforementioned debt, recent running costs for the club, and the ring-fenced money for the sports facility improvements.