A dream come true for Margaret and Sarah

6 Sep 2018 01:10 PM

Talybont-on-Usk in the Brecon Beacons is home to two old fashioned tennis courts where Margaret Cox coached tennis with her best friend Sarah Osbourne every Wednesday evening for thirty years.  The two friends wanted to refurbish the tennis courts where they had taught generations of children and were constantly fundraising for their dream. Margaret played the National Lottery every week and always said that if she won she would refurbish the courts.

Unfortunately, Margaret died in Autumn 2016 so didn’t live to see her dream come true, but Talybont-on–Usk Community Council have been successful in their bid to the Big Lottery Fund for a grant. Sarah told us that Margaret would have been delighted to know that the money she paid for her National Lottery tickets has turned out to be an investment in refurbishing the courts she cared about so much.

Sarah added, “Margaret and I worked so hard to raise money for this. The grant from the National Lottery means that our village has got access to a space to play not just tennis, which is my sport, but lots of others as well. I am thrilled and Margaret would have been too.”

Talybont-on-Usk Community Council put forward a project to transform two deteriorating tennis courts into a multi-use activity area. Their idea was to make a cost effective and versatile space with an all-weather surface which could be enjoyed by all ages and abilities. Their grant will allow them to build a flexible space which be used for lots of different sports including football, cricket, basketball, netball, hockey, tennis and other accessible sports such as boccia (a cross between petanque and bowls played from a wheelchair). They were awarded £95,924 over one year for the refurbishment.  

Talybont are just one of 78 communities across Wales celebrating awards from the Big Lottery Fund with grants totalling £870,000 this month. Grants are made possible thanks to players of the National Lottery, you can download the full list from our website by clicking here.

Derek Preston-Hughes, Manager for People and Places at the Big Lottery Fund said, “We want to fund the ideas which matter most to a community and this project in Talybont-on-Usk is a great example of something which the community really wanted.”

Further Information:

Joanna Maurice - Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 01686 611720
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 0735                          
Text Relay: 18001+0300 123 0735
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
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