Anyone for tennis? Three courts earmarked for overhaul after successful funding bid

If Wimbledon fever grabbed you this year, and made you want to pick up a tennis racquet, you can look forward to being able to play on three sets of refurbished courts at local parks in the near future!

North East Lincolnshire Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts in North East Lincolnshire. In total, three park tennis venues will be renovated, with investment of £255,000 helping ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community. 

Courts at Barretts Recreation Ground (4-courts), Haverstoe Park (2-courts) and Sussex Recreation Ground (4-courts) will be upgraded, providing new hard-surface courts for local people to use. Alongside this, improvements to perimeter fencing will make the courts safe and secure, as well as new nets and post, and a new gate access system linked to an online court booking system making it easier to access and play on the courts in the future.

Work on this project are due to begin on 4 September at Barretts Recreation Ground and on 25 September at Haverstoe Park and Sussex Recreation Ground.

The main works will take up to 10 weeks to complete, but the final painting of the courts may not be able to be applied until the Spring when the weather improves and temperatures are sufficient for the paint to dry.

The project is part of a nationwide investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain, and open up the sport to many more people. This investment will see thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country through renovation works, and improved court accessibility with new gate-access technology and booking systems.

Park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get active, delivering significant physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits to participants. Accessible facilities in parks are particularly critical to opening up the sport to those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women and girls.

The three parks were chosen due based on LTA funding criteria that included their potential to attract players, the poor quality of the playing surfaces and levels of deprivation in the surrounding area.

Using the LTA’s analysis, the three parks have potential to attract enough recreational tennis players from their surrounding area to make them sustainable.

As well as making physical improvements to the courts, the Council is also looking at how the courts will be managed in the future.

Cllr Hayden Dawkins, Cabinet member for culture, heritage and the visitor economy, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for us to be part of a national drive to overhaul tired tennis courts and encourage more people into the sport. We’ve been working closely with the LTA to identify the three tennis courts that would qualify for the national funding. 

“Most people appreciate their local park. We want to improve facilities to give local people of all ages the opportunity to have better access to a hugely popular international sport.”

Meanwhile, work is continuing at the Clee Fields site to provide new 3G pitches and changing facilities. And separately, work is ongoing to secure money to develop a number of multi-use pitches around Grimsby.

“Playing sports from an early age can help people lead healthier lives. And by providing good quality, accessible facilities for people to do this will only help, these developments will support the delivery our new Sport and Physical Activity Strategy through improving facilities and opportunities to be more active in local communities” continued Cllr Dawkins.

Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said:

“We are delighted to be working with North East Lincolnshire Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active. This investment is part of the UK Government and LTA’s Parks Tennis Project, and will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come. We will also be working closely with North East Lincolnshire to ensure that the local community have a range of accessible opportunities to get on court, and open up our sport to many more people.”

ENDS

Anyone for tennis? Three courts earmarked for overhaul after successful funding bid

If Wimbledon fever grabbed you this year, and made you want to pick up a tennis racquet, you can look forward to being able to play on three sets of refurbished courts at local parks in the near future!

North East Lincolnshire Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts in North East Lincolnshire. In total, three park tennis venues will be renovated, with investment of £255,000 helping ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community. 

Courts at Barretts Recreation Ground (4-courts), Haverstoe Park (2-courts) and Sussex Recreation Ground (4-courts) will be upgraded, providing new hard-surface courts for local people to use. Alongside this, improvements to perimeter fencing will make the courts safe and secure, as well as new nets and post, and a new gate access system linked to an online court booking system making it easier to access and play on the courts in the future.

Work on this project are due to begin on 4 September at Barretts Recreation Ground and on 25 September at Haverstoe Park and Sussex Recreation Ground.

The main works will take up to 10 weeks to complete, but the final painting of the courts may not be able to be applied until the Spring when the weather improves and temperatures are sufficient for the paint to dry.

The project is part of a nationwide investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain, and open up the sport to many more people. This investment will see thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country through renovation works, and improved court accessibility with new gate-access technology and booking systems.

Park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get active, delivering significant physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits to participants. Accessible facilities in parks are particularly critical to opening up the sport to those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women and girls.

The three parks were chosen due based on LTA funding criteria that included their potential to attract players, the poor quality of the playing surfaces and levels of deprivation in the surrounding area.

Using the LTA’s analysis, the three parks have potential to attract enough recreational tennis players from their surrounding area to make them sustainable.

As well as making physical improvements to the courts, the Council is also looking at how the courts will be managed in the future.

Cllr Hayden Dawkins, Cabinet member for culture, heritage and the visitor economy, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for us to be part of a national drive to overhaul tired tennis courts and encourage more people into the sport. We’ve been working closely with the LTA to identify the three tennis courts that would qualify for the national funding. 

“Most people appreciate their local park. We want to improve facilities to give local people of all ages the opportunity to have better access to a hugely popular international sport.”

Meanwhile, work is continuing at the Clee Fields site to provide new 3G pitches and changing facilities. And separately, work is ongoing to secure money to develop a number of multi-use pitches around Grimsby.

“Playing sports from an early age can help people lead healthier lives. And by providing good quality, accessible facilities for people to do this will only help, these developments will support the delivery our new Sport and Physical Activity Strategy through improving facilities and opportunities to be more active in local communities” continued Cllr Dawkins.

Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said:

“We are delighted to be working with North East Lincolnshire Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active. This investment is part of the UK Government and LTA’s Parks Tennis Project, and will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come. We will also be working closely with North East Lincolnshire to ensure that the local community have a range of accessible opportunities to get on court, and open up our sport to many more people.”