Last week, TheSouthern reported that Tennis Borders had accused SBC of killing local tennis, following comments made by junior convenor Alastair McCulloch who said the local authority was lagging behind the rest of Scotland in its provision of facilities for developing and nurturing young players.

However, senior officials at Tennis Borders have insisted the views expressed were not shared by the sporting body and this week McCulloch confirmed the statements had not been made on behalf of the organisation, saying: "The opinion stated was my own and not the agreed opinion of Tennis Borders."

Responding to the criticisms, a spokesperson for the council told us: "I am aware that Tennis Borders does not agree with Mr McCulloch's allegations. SBC has a very close partnership with Tennis Borders and long may this continue.

"Due to this successful partnership, SBC was named Tennis Scotland's 'Local Authority of the Year' earlier this year and also launched an Athlete Support Programme in October last year to give athletes and coaches the opportunity to receive a wide range of support services to assist them in reaching their potential in their chosen sport."

However, calls for the local authority to extend its commitment to the sport continue to gather momentum and this week, a former club captain of Jedburgh Lawn Tennis Club, which was demolished by the local authority in the 60s to make way for the Jedburgh bypass, described the lack of facilities as a "disgrace".

Graham Macdonald said: "Jed had one of the strongest clubs by miles and it was in a beautiful setting with three clay courts surrounded by flowers at Queen Mary's Gardens. But in the end the council sent a bulldozer right through the middle of them.

"It was run by the players and a committee who looked after facilities there and it was very important to the town – there was a nice clubhouse and people used to come and watch games all the time. A lot of the big Borders tournaments were played there as well.

"But it just collapsed overnight and there hasn't been a club here since. It's disgraceful. Things like that are so important in the life of local communities and for young people to get involved with."