THERE will be net gains at Dunfermline Tennis & Bridge Club after plans for a major renovation were approved by Fife Council.

It's enjoying a boom in membership and visitor numbers and now has permission for a single-storey extension with a balcony, new doors and windows at its Bothwell Street home.

It will be on the north side of the existing clubhouse and will have an external staircase leading to a decked balcony and open gallery area.

Pat Reid MBE, of Dunfermline Tennis Club, said: "There's a lot more to it. The extension will give us an extra storeroom for all the tennis equipment and we're gutting the downstairs of the existing building and completely revamping it.

"There is unused space so we're going to make a second clubroom for use by tennis and bridge club members.

"We'll also be revamping the toilets, the upstairs will be renovated, possibly with new lighting and a new ceiling, and we're putting in bi-fold doors so we can watch the tennis!"

She added: "The whole idea is because we've got too big. The tennis membership and visitor numbers are up and there's no space.

"The bridge club is getting bigger too with lots of classes so it's really to make better use of the space we've got for all our members and the non-members that use the club.

"We're getting excited. It's taken far longer than we thought it would but if we get the funding together by the end of June or July, we hope work will start in October."

The club will use some of its own money and has already secured financial backing with £10,000 from the West Fife Area Common Good Fund.

Pat added: "The club is getting bigger but we're also getting used more by the community, with lots of non-members coming in to play tennis, for coaching sessions and kids' holiday camps; the bridge classes have non-members too.

"That's healthy and it's important for people to know it's not just a members' club, it's a community club and an asset for Dunfermline."