Sandwich Lawn Tennis Club and allotment holders have agreed to share the Sandown Road allotment site after an on-going feud.

Representatives from the tennis club and the Friends of Sandown Road Allotments agreed a proposal to develop another site for allotments so the club can expand on to the current plot, after a meeting on Friday, September 11.

Mayor of Sandwich, Cllr Paul Graeme, said: “I am very pleased that Sandwich Town Council and Dover District Council have been able to work together with Sandwich Tennis Club and the Friends of Sandown Road Allotments to move forward discussions about the future of both facilities.

“Sport and gardening offer enjoyable ways for people to keep active, promoting physical and mental well-being. Both the tennis club and the Friends of Sandown Road Allotments have been very positive in their approach to these four-way discussions with us and with DDC. I feel that there is potential for considerable community benefit from developments at Sandown Road, with a brighter future for the allotments and for the tennis club.”

The club wishes to extend its facilities with a fourth court and a parking and access area.

Sandwich Town Council and Dover District Council are now working on the agreement that these facilities can be developed on land currently used for allotments providing that spare land to the rear of the club is used for allotment space.

Both have agreed a new 30 year lease.

Lloyd Daniels, club captain of Sandwich Tennis Club, said: “The tennis club is delighted with the proposed new layout of the Sandown Road site, allowing space for the much-needed expansion of tennis facilities and for more allotments. We look forward to working with the Friends of Sandown Road Allotments to implement the plan”.

Jane May, a member of the Friends of Sandown Road Allotments, who set up a petition against losing the allotments, said: “We are very pleased that the allotments have been preserved. We would like to thank the mayor and councillors for their support and also all the many people who signed the petition and made this possible.

“Together with the Tennis Club, we hope to make the site a real asset for the community.”