Protesters make a racquet over lack of city tennis courts

WIMBLEDON may be over for another year, but Meadowbank campaigners are hoping to win their battle over what they say is a lack of courts for the next generation to play on.

They say youngsters hoping to follow in the footsteps of players like Andy and Jamie Murray are being hindered by a lack of facilities in the east of the city.

The campaigners' calls for better facilities have the backing of Ken Devine, the father of 13-year-old tennis ace Emma Devine, who is set to train with the former world number one Justine Henin in Belgium.

The city council plans to bulldoze the ageing stadium and build a £25 million sports complex. Around a third of the land is set to be sold for housing, raising an estimated £17m.

Kevin Connor, a Save Meadowbank spokesman, said: "Tennis is one of the many sports completely ignored in the council's plans for a scaled-down facility at Meadowbank.

"Anyone from the Meadowbank area who wants to play tennis must now find a private club or travel to either the Meadows or Inverleith.

"Many of the courts I played on when I was younger no longer exist. They need to be far more pro-active and provide local facilities instead of selling sports land for housing."

The campaigners are calling on stadium users and residents to comment on the city council's Local Plan, before the deadline on Friday.

The plan recommends replacing Meadowbank, as the stadium is no longer "fit for purpose".

Residents and sports groups fighting the plans protested outside the stadium last night.

The stadium used to have tennis courts as well, but these were destroyed by fire in the 1990s and never replaced. Public courts at nearby Holyrood Park have also closed in recent years.

Mr Devine said: "There are a lack of facilities in Edinburgh and Scotland. In the main there are private clubs, which are run very much on a financial basis.

"Emma trained at Craiglockhart, which is one of the best in the city. But I don't believe there are any indoor courts in Scotland that are up to international competition standard."

Steve Whitby, a coach at Abercorn Tennis Club, which is privately owned, said he believed many young people were put off through lack of opportunity.

He said: "There are a lot of children who don't get exposed to a broad range of sports at school because of the limited facilities. If you want to go to the nearest public courts, you have to travel to the Meadows or Joppa."

Twins Jacqueline and Melissa Marshall, 11, who joined last night's protest, said they were eager to get out on court after watching Wimbledon.

"We've been watching all week and if there had been tennis courts at Meadowbank we could have been playing here," they said.

A city council spokesman said that following the fire at Meadowbank, money was invested at Craiglockhart, ranked by the Lawn Tennis Association as one of the best centres in the UK.

He added: "At present we have 42 non-private courts across the city and Edinburgh Leisure have a large coaching staff and run arguably the best tennis development centre in Scotland.

"Last year the council opened four new courts at Inverleith while Edinburgh Leisure refurbished 16 at the Meadows."