Peterborough Town Tennis Club (PTTC) has invested nearly half a million pounds in its facilities. The investment includes three new macadam courts, floodlighting and two new covered courts housed in a CopriSystems framed fabric structure.

Previously PTTC had two tennis clubs spread over two separate sites, however it was a long term objective to sell one site in order to improve the other. The economic downturn put pressure on the process, leaving PTTC with a tighter budget and unable to carry out the necessary improvements at its open club.

CopriSystems approached PTTC with a cost effective solution for this dilemma, by utilising the fabric frame from the now closed site.

CopriSystems’ fabric frames are made from hot-dipped galvanised tensile steel that is designed to last indefinitely. The dome frames are covered in a single piece of PVC-coated polyester fabric that is self-extinguishing and resistant to UV damage and abrasions. This material is stretched over the frame to create a seamless roof that is designed to last for more than 20 years.

Since its completion the covered court has given PTTC a new lease of life, with membership having increased by a reported 600 percent. Five coaches have also been employed to handle the increased demand, with further plans to extend the club.

Rafe Colenso, director of CopriSystems, says: “It was great to be able to reuse a sports dome which was just going to be demolished and effectively sent for scrap, but also to revitalise a structure. It has given a whole lease of life to a sports club in an area that greatly needed it due to the lock of local covered sporting facilities.”