Cranbourne South Tennis Club members James Sharp and Jacob Kowalski are desperate to see their old and decaying By Alison Noonan
RATS and mice have outnumbered members at Cranbourne South Tennis Club.
Members of the Morning Mist Reserve club claim they are losing players because of a clubroom that houses more animals inside than in the bush outside.
Tennis coach Lucas Keleher said the courts were located in picturesque rural surroundings but marred by the dilapidated clubroom.
“I feel awful asking people to stay at the club,” he said.
“You take one step in and want to run back out. It has a horrible smell, is old and far too small.
“My wife is the housekeeper but she has just given up. There are just too many rat droppings.
“It’s a beautiful reserve but the clubroom has just been really neglected.”
Mr Keleher likened the clubroom to a prison, claiming the metal grills barring the windows and old brick facade gave an unwelcoming appearance.
To make matters worse, he said the car park was used as a local dumping ground.
“It is not a friendly looking club,” he said.
“And people just dump their rubbish in the car park because it is a secluded area.
“It’s a terrible waste because we have really nice courts here.”
Mr Keleher said the entire reserve was in desperate need of a revamp to keep up with the rapid growth set to occur in Cranbourne South, including the new multimillion dollar residential development Settlers Run.
“The population will expand soon when the new estate is built and the area will be huge,” he said.
“We want to start this now so that when people start moving into the area we can actually get them to join the club.
“The transport to the area is also really poor. If you don’t have a car you have no way of getting here.
“We just need to keep up with the times.”
Balla Balla Ward Colin Butler said he sympathised with club members, claiming the state of the facilities was so bad that the building needed to be demolished and constructed from scratch.
“This pavilion has been there forever. It’s the first room ever built there and has never been upgraded.
“It just needs knocking down and rebuilding. It’s so small you can’t swing a cat in it.
“Council should have done something ages ago. It is that bad that the club is losing members to other clubs,” he said.
Cr Butler said a meeting had been arranged between council officers and club members to discuss the future of the facilities.
He said officers would then report back to council on the plans and costs for future improvements.
