Four more tennis courts in Lewisham set for renovation

• Lewisham Council and the Lawn Tennis Association agree the next phase of their partnership to breathe new life into local tennis courts across the borough.
• This next project will see £279,144 of investment across Lewisham’s public parks.
• Investment comes from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation’s Park Tennis Project, being delivered by Lewisham Council and the LTA.

Lewisham Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have today announced the next phase of their partnership to invest in and refurbish public tennis courts across the borough. In total, four more tennis venues will be renovated within Lewisham’s parks, with investment of £279,144 helping to ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community now and in the future.

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 tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country.

Selected venues will receive renovation works, improved court accessibility with new gate-access technology and booking systems, and implementation of sustainability plans ensuring the courts are kept in good condition for years to come.

Tennis courts in local parks 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 as many people as possible.

In addition to this investment of £166,301 from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, £112,843 will be invested by Lewisham Council.

Lewisham Council and South East London Tennis, the coaching provider of the tennis programme across the parks, will work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly free park tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided- this means that people will not need someone to play with or their own racket. Local Tennis Leagues will also provide friendly and sociable opportunities to get active.

The park venues being renovated are: Hilly Fields, Catford Bridge, Telegraph Hill and Chinbrook Meadows. These will be available to book online via the Lewisham ClubSpark website Play Tennis Lewisham (lta.org.uk).

We hope that this new booking system will make it easier for residents to find and book a court or activity. All courts and sessions at all sites will also be available to book online via www.lta.org.uk/play.

Once the refurbishment works are complete, there will be two booking options: either ‘pay as you go’ to book a court for £5 per hour or residents can purchase the £35 annual season ticket which entitles people to 3 x one-hour bookings per week – this is the equivalent of 67p per week.

Work on sites will start in March 2023 and to be completed by June 2023.

Cllr Andre Bourne, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure at Lewisham Council said:

“We are happy to be working ongoingly with the LTA to properly invest in our tennis courts for the long-term and make sure that excellent sports facilities are available for our residents right across Lewisham.

“These four courts are in urgent need of refurbishment and we have received a number of complaints from residents over slippery conditions, crumbling surfaces and rubbish. Without this vital investment from the LTA, our courts risk becoming unplayable and having to be closed. After thirteen years of Government cuts to local authority budgets, working in partnership with groups like the LTA allows us to continue investing in local facilities without having to make cuts to other services.

"We have continued to meet regularly with local residents and court users to keep them updated about the plans for the refurbishment and we look forward to welcoming people back once the works are complete."

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

“We are delighted to be working with Lewisham 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 Lewisham Council 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.”