AFTER years of uncertainty, hopes of a better future for West Witney Sports Ground are growing.

The complex’s tennis courts, which have long been a bone of contention between the players who use them and the town council, are now getting a new surface after a six-year dispute.

And the clubs which use the facilities at the ground, ranging from football and cricket pitches to bowls greens and a rifle range, have come together with the aim of securing a long-term lease from the town council, so they can draw up a strategy to improve and expand facilities.

The move will also enable them to qualify for grants from their sports’ governing bodies, which will not support projects at sites with short leases. This could also help ease the pressures on the council’s coffers.

Both developments are welcome news after a long period when it was not clear whether the site had a future, while the town council considered selling it to developers and starting from scratch at a new location.

We wish the newly-formed West Witney Sports Association success in its aspirations to take more control over the site, as it surely makes sense to give the people who use it a greater say in its future.

This would have the added benefit of allowing the town council to focus its energies on developing more sports facilities for our still-expanding community and addressing other pressing matters, not least the reopening of the Corn Exchange.