TROWBRIDGE Park served up a day to remember on Saturday with the opening of the new tennis courts and an activity-filled festival as well.

After 12 months of planning and more than £65,000 in funding from the Trowbridge Area Board and the Lawn Tennis Association, Mayor Deborah Halik opened the state-of-the-art courts, enjoying a rally or two in her mayoral robes, which kick started a flurry of people coming to play.

At the same time, hundreds took part in Active Trowbridge’s four season themed festival, which included animal petting for the Spring, a water slide and helter skelter for Summer, camp fires and muddy play areas for Autumn and an ice rink, tobogganing and a snowball machine for Winter.

Hayley Bell, head of leisure and information services for Trowbridge Town Council, said: “It was just a fantastic day, full of tennis, great activities and a wonderful atmosphere.

“It has been a year of hard work and a lot of team work but it has paid off in spectacular fashion. The old courts had not been touched for decades so this development was long overdue, and they really do look superb.

“It was great to have the Mayor and LTA representatives come down for a hit on the courts and I am delighted to say that after everyone left at 4pm, lots of people were keen to play. Now that you have to pay £5 for 90 minutes or £30 a year per household, we can keep the courts in good condition,

“The festival was a huge success. The kids absolutely loved it. The Active Trowbridge team did a brilliant job and at the end of the day they went down the waterslide too, the big kids. The footfall was up from last year. The theme was a great success and hopefully we can build on that next year and preparation for that is already underway.”