Campaigners blame owner for decline of historic indoor court
By Jasper Hamill

One of only two "real tennis" courts left in Scotland is crumbling amid accusations that the owner is deliberately allowing the historic relic to decay.

An international letter-writing campaign has failed to persuade Richard Johnstone - who owns the Sun Court nursing home in Troon which the court is attached to - it is worth saving.

Instead he is apparently bent on annexing the building to provide more rooms and parking spaces for his residential home, even though his planning application was turned down last year by South Ayrshire Council after receiving more than 800 letters of opposition.

Now campaigners claim he is letting the listed court, built in 1905, deteriorate until it becomes too dangerous to stay open, a move that would force the council to agree to his extension plans.

James Walton, chief executive of the Tennis and Rackets Association, said : "Johnstone lost the planning battle to get the thing demolished and instead it was deemed that it should continue to exist. His only choice is to prove the court is not viable, dangerous or anything he can think of.

"The locals are trying to put up a good fight - they've got massive international support - but at the end of the day people from Washington, Sydney or wherever are not going to use the court on a wet Wednesday in February. It was viable in the past, so why can't it be viable again?"

Johnstone is in talks with Prestwick Tennis Club about setting up a business that would renovate and maintain the court, a project he estimated could cost more than £600,000. The businessman, who owns a string of care homes as well as Ayr racecourse, insists he is committed to the preservation of old buildings so long as there is a plan to turn them into profitable businesses He said: "The court hasn't operated for a large period of the twentieth century. It's in a similar state as when we purchased the property. We certainly haven't spent any money upgrading it because effectively it serves no purpose at the moment. It was a disused, dilapidated building when we purchased the care home business, and that's what it still is."

Jan Collins, the man leading Prestwick's bid to reopen the court, did not want to comment.

The care home used to be a hotel which opened with a fanfare in 1970. The C-listed real tennis court was its centrepiece, a relic left behind from the turn of the last century. The court was in use up until the hotel was turned into a care home in 1990. Johnstone bought it in 2001.

A recent Historic Scotland report showed that the court was not in a dangerous condition. The local council's building standards engineer subsequently confirmed campaigners' suspicions that the building had been allowed to decay, noting that steelwork, brickwork and the timber straps used to give the building its mock Tudor appearance had suffered "significant damage" and parts of the building were now in an "extremely poor condition".

Sportscotland has backed the real tennis campaign for several years. Stewart Cargill, senior planner, said: "We are keen to ensure there is a spread of quality, accessible facilities for all sports. We objected to the proposed demolition of the court as it is a unique facility and if there was any possibility that it could be restored and brought back to use this should be investigated."