Local park tennis courts in Sutton set for renovation

Sutton Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts across the borough. In total, twenty tennis courts in six parks will be renovated, with investment of over £450,000 ensuring that quality facilities are available for the local community.  

The park venues being renovated are: Beddington Park, Corrigan Avenue Recreation Ground, Cuddington Rec Ground, Mellows Park, Stanley Park, and Sutton Common Recreation Ground. Work on site was started in July 2023 and is anticipated to be completed by October 2023.

Alongside the investment, the Council will also be working with the LTA to develop a sustainable way to operate the tennis courts and deliver activities across the park sites. The Council will be seeking a new park tennis provider to bring coaching opportunities for adults, juniors and families to enjoy tennis in the parks this year. 

This will include weekly organised 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.  

All courts and sessions at all sites will be available to book online via the LTA website, making it far easier to find and book a court or activity.  Fifteen percent of all court booking slots will be made available for free with the remainder charged at £6 an hour. Household annual season tickets will also be available for £45 giving access to all courts.

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.  Similar projects already exist in neighbouring boroughs including Kingston and Merton and are being rolled out in many other boroughs. 

The total project cost is made up of investment of £363,000 from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, with £100,000 invested by Sutton Council.

Councillor Barry Lewis, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee said:

“It is great news that we are making this investment to transform our tennis courts in Sutton’s parks that will help to bring them back to a good standard. Providing funding to ensure the courts remain in top condition and where free coaching sessions and equipment is provided will help to open the sport up to new players and could even help Sutton residents be the future Wimbledon champions!”

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

“We are delighted to be working with Sutton 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 Sutton Council to ensure that the local community has a range of accessible opportunities to get on court, and open up our sport to many more people.”