- Salford City Council and the LTA agree partnership to breathe new life into local park tennis courts across the city
- The project will see £662,743 of investment across Salford City Council’s public parks
- £456,091 of the investment will come from the UK government and LTA Tennis Foundation’s Park Tennis Project, being delivered by the LTA.
- Salford City Council will invest over £206,000
Salford City Council and the LTA have announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts in Salford. In total, eight park tennis venues will be renovated, with investment of £662,743 helping ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community.
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.
In addition to investment of £456,091.64 from the UK government and LTA Tennis Foundation, £206,652 will also be invested by Salford City Council.
Alongside the investment, Salford Community Leisure and We Do Tennis, which will be delivering coaching in the parks, will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly organised free park tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience. Equipment will be provided, meaning that people will not need someone to play with or have their own racket. Local Tennis Leagues will also provide friendly, sociable, opportunities to get active through local competition.
The park venues being renovated are: Albert Park, Boothsbank Park, Buile Hill Park, Eccles Recreation Ground, Lightoaks Park, Parr Fold Park, Princes Park and Victoria Park.
All courts and sessions at all sites will be available to book online via the LTA website.
Work on site is anticipated to start in March and be completed by May.
Councillor Barbara Bentham, Lead Member for Environment, Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, Salford City Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to promote tennis in our communities particularly amongst those who wouldn’t usually play.
“This fantastic investment in facilities, together with a new operating model, easier booking and free coaching will ensure the tennis courts can be maintained for future generations.”
Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said: “We are delighted to be working with Salford City 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 Salford City 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.”
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- Date published
- Monday 27 March 2023