RESIDENTS in and around Great Chesterford are set to benefit from renewed multisports courts, thanks to a massive �42,000 grant.

The friends of Great Chesterford Recreation Ground has big plans to modernise the facility by replacing the fencing with a welded mesh that will have integrated goal mouths, netball posts and basketball hoops. The whole area will also be resurfaced so that a greater variety of sports can be played there.

The fencing and resurfacing project has been funded through the Community Spaces programme, managed by Groundwork UK on behalf of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces initiative.

Chairman of the team, Sorrel Gordon-Foxwell, said: “We are delighted to be able to make these updates to the multisport courts.

“They are well-used by a big cross-section of the community and we hope that the improvements will allow even more people to enjoy the facilities.”

The courts may be used by all residents of Great and Little Chesterford and are the only courts in the immediate area that are free of charge. The facility is floodlit and open until 10pm each night.

Work is due to start at the beginning of August and the project is expected to take around four weeks to complete. The official re-opening will take place in September.

• Meanwhile, the under-12’s playground at the recreation ground has new and exciting equipment being installed including a cantilevered basket swing which can be used by both able-bodied and disabled children, and a rotating net climber. A 10-seater picnic table has also been provided.

Mrs Gordon-Foxwell said: “We’ve had fantastic support from the village with a volunteer team helping us to remove the old equipment – this saved us over �1,300 which could be spent on new equipment for the children.”

The refurbishment is taking place in two phases and this first stage was made possible through grants from Essex County Council’s Communities Initiatives Fund, Stansted Community Fund, and Saffron Walden Round Table. There was also local fundraising with donations from Chesterford’s Pre-School and the Friends of Great Chesterford Primary School.