A TENNIS club is hoping for a “like for like” replacement for their facilities if they are forced to move.

Braintree Lawn Tennis Club formed in 1983 after splitting from the other sections of the Crittall Sports and Social Club.

Since then they have been based at their Clockhouse Way home, however with the site allocated for housing as part of Braintree Council’s draft local plan, the club could soon be on the move.

Chairman Jonny Dyer said: “We have thought about it a lot for the last ten years however we have a meeting coming up with the council and, whilst we have nothing in concrete, we are expecting in the next few months to hear something.

“We expect them to replace the facilities like for like. We have been partially expecting a change and we have not spent hardly any money on the club.”

Whilst the club does not know where the new facilities will be, the 60 adult and 200 youth members are based throughout the area.

Mr Dyer said: “In a lot of ways it could be better for us when we move. We have to maintain a lot of land that is not used at the moment which is costly.

“There are opportunities for us if we move, we could secure national funding to create a better facility.

“We do not own the land, we simply rent the site off the council so our situation is a bit different than the football club’s.”