Tennis courts in Wirral’s parks could benefit from investment of £300,000 that would improve facilities, increase participation in the game and secure the future of the courts in the long term.
The funding is being provided by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) with the aim of bringing and retaining public tennis courts to a good standard of playability for the benefit of local communities.
In Wirral, this will see improvements made to 36 courts across 12 different parks tennis sites in the borough. All sites will get a new access gate system that links to the LTA’s booking system, while courts that are in the poorest condition will be resurfaced and others renovated and improved in different ways.
Alongside this investment, Wirral Council will work with the LTA and partners to introduce a new way of managing tennis in parks that will aim to increase participation through better programming, engagement with communities and keeping the sport affordable and accessible.
Cllr Helen Cameron, Chair of the Tourism, Communities, Culture and Leisure Committee for Wirral Council, said, “This investment in community tennis is very welcome. It will ensure local facilities can be brought up to a good standard and allow us to implement better ways of developing the sport in Wirral. This will attract more players to the game and ultimately help make the facilities sustainable in the long-term.
“Improving the environment and creating new opportunities for people to use our amazing parks and open spaces more often is a key part of Wirral’s new Sport and Physical Activity Strategy. It is also closely linked to the priorities in the Wirral Plan 2026 to encourage people to lead active and healthy lives and create safer and more pleasant communities.”
The aim is for the plan to be approved in the Autumn. The 12 sites that would benefit from the improvements are:
• Arrowe Park (1 court)
• Ashton Park, West Kirby (2)
• Birkenhead Park (6)
• Coronation Park, Greasby (1)
• Harrison Park, Wallasey (7)
• Higher Bebington Park (3)
• Irby Park (2)
• Marine Park, New Brighton (4)
• Meols Parade Gardens (2)
• New Ferry Park (4)
• Saughall Grange (2)
• Torr Park, Eastham (2)
Image: Matthew Turner
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