Gedling Borough Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts at Conway Park in Carlton.
The site will be fully renovated to create four new accessible public tennis courts, with an investment of £152,000 helping ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community.
The project is part of a £30million 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 conditions 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. Over 2,500 courts have been completed so far as part of the project.
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 investment will be made up of £113,00 from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, with £39,000 also be invested by Gedling Borough Council thanks to funding secured from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
Alongside the investment, Gedling Borough Council will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly organised Barclays Free Park Tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided, meaning that people will not need someone to play with or their own racket. Local Tennis Leagues will also provide friendly, sociable, opportunities to get active through local competition.
Once the renovations are completed all courts and sessions at all sites will be available to book online via the LTA website:https://www.lta.org.uk/play making it far easier to find and book a courtor activity.
Work on sites has recently begun and aims to be completed, with the courts re-open for play by Spring 2025.
Councillor Henry Wheeler, Portfolio Holder for Lifestyles, Health, and Wellbeing at Gedling Borough Council, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with the LTA to refurbish the tennis courts at Conway Park in Carlton and improve accessibility for local people with the addition of four new courts and a range of park activities to promote this exceptional sport.
By improving the quality of these public facilities, we are encouraging increased participation so that more people can enjoy the benefits of playing tennis, which contribute to improved physical and mental health. This funding represents a valuable investment in the health and wellbeing of our local community and will offer better opportunities for everyone, helping to create a healthier, more active borough.”
Scott Lloyd, LTA Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with Gedling Borough Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for people to pick up a racket and get active.
“This investment from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come. We will also be working closely with the council to ensure that the local community has a range of accessible opportunities to get on court, ensuring that we open up our sport to many more people.”
