A squash club is ready to open its facilities to the wider community with the installation of a new lift to better access its function room and social space.
Grantham Squash Club, on Harlaxton Road, is being given £35,000 from South Kesteven District Council’s portion of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
To be awarded the cash, the club had to show that improvements would benefit to the community as a whole and fit in with targets for timeframes and installation.
Squash Club chairman David Goodridge said: “We are absolutely delighted with this funding, which shows how the UKSPF scheme is working to make facilities like the squash club accessible to everyone – not just sports people.
“Our club has a vision to make its facilities fully accessible to all users regardless of physical ability.
“We completed the first stage of this wider project last summer when we installed electric entrance doors and two internal doors to provide easier access to the gym, toilets, sauna and squash courts.
“What we’re doing now is making our function rooms upstairs easily available to those with more limited mobility – or parents with pushchairs and prams – so they can join in the various classes and events hosted here. The lift will also allow people get to the squash court viewing galleries more easily.
“The need is evident: we regularly turn down enquiries for events which may involve elderly or infirm people simply because two staircases are involved, but this improvement will make such a big difference to what we can offer the community.”
The community space aims to be inclusive for all local residents regardless of age, background or level of physical ability, and the club wants to encourage more people to hire the facilities and be more active, both socially and physically. The lift work will be complete in the next few days.
Regular activities are shown online at https://granthamsquash.co.uk, where bookings can also be made.
Grantham Squash Club was founded 1961, as the CASC – Community Amateur Sports Club. It has its own constitution, is run by an elected committee and is non-profit making.
The club has a rich history of hosting national tournaments and holding its own open and closed competitions. Eight teams compete in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire leagues and it also runs internal leagues. The club also promotes other forms of squash, such as doubles and racketball, which are more suitable for older players.