A NATIONAL Lottery grant of £290,000 is to provide new sports facilities in Sedgefield.

The grant will provide Sedgefield Community College with an all-weather games pitch, three all- weather tennis courts, floodlighting, clubhouse with community office and coffee bar extension, changing rooms and club room, which will hopefully be in use early next year.

The Lawn Tennis Association has given £45,000 to the scheme, and the local tennis club will become affiliated to the College Community Association.

It is expected that the total cost of the scheme will be about £350,000.

Chairman of the association Jack Glendinning said that they were delighted with the news.

"We can now go ahead with our plans to extend and promote additional sporting activities for the benefit of our community," he said.

College head Lynne Ackland, said: "It will really say to people how much we want to be a focus in the community.

"It will also help us to raise our standards."