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Local park tennis courts in Canvey Island set for renovation

Castle Point Borough Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) agree partnership to breathe new life into local park tennis courts at King George V Playing Fields, Canvey Island. The project will see £85,000 of investment to renovate the tennis courts.

£70k investment comes from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation’s Park Tennis Project, being delivered by the LTA, and £15k investment comes from Castle Point Borough Council

Castle Point Borough Council and the LTA have announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts in at King George V Playing Fields, Canvey Island. Three park tennis courts will be renovated, with investment of £85,000 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 more women and girls, and people from traditionally underserved communities.

Alongside the investment, Castle Point Borough Council and local youth charity Yellow Door will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activities at the park courts. This will include weekly organised 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 courts are completed all courts and sessions will be available to book online via the LTA website.

Work on sites is anticipated to start in March 2024 and will be completed later in the Spring.

Councillor Tom Gibson, Castle point Borough Council Cabinet Member Leisure, Assets and Events said:

We are delighted and excited to be working in partnership with the LTA on this project which will transform the existing courts which have reached their end of life into three high quality tennis courts, the quality of which the Council is committed to maintaining. We are confident that the newly refurbished courts and the range of activities which will be on offer will be popular with people of all ages and ability.

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

“We are delighted to be working with Castle Point 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 the council and partners 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.”