• Stevenage Borough Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) agree partnership to breathe new life into local park tennis courts in Shephalbury Park
• The project will see £110,000 of investment
• Investment comes from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation’s Park Tennis Project, being delivered by the LTA.

Stevenage Borough Council and the LTA have today announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts in Shephalbury Park, with an investment of £110,000 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.

The council has been quick to engage with the LTA, and Shephalbury Park is the first project that the LTA’s chosen contractor for our region, Chiltern Sports Contractors, has commenced under the framework.

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.

Alongside the investment, Stevenage Borough Council and the operator of the tennis programme across the parks, National Tennis Association, will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activities across the park sites. This will include weekly organised free park tennis sessions for all ages, and playing levels where equipment is provided.  This means 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.

The Shephalbury Park tennis courts and sessions will also be available to book online through the LTA website, making it far easier to find and book a court or activity.

Work on sites is anticipated to be completed by May 2023.

Leader of Stevenage Borough Council Councillor Richard Henry said:

“We have been working with the LTA for a number of years to secure this funding, and it’s excellent news that we are the first local authority in the country to benefit from this national investment programme. Park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get more active, and they will have significant physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits for participants. Residents will also benefit from a wide range of tennis programmes that will be on offer in Stevenage.”

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

“We are delighted to be working with Stevenage Borough 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 Stevenage Borough 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.”

Andy Burrell, Managing Director of Chiltern Sports said:

“We are delighted to have been able to commence our works under the LTA framework in Stevenage, it has been a pleasure dealing with the council and it is a credit to their operations that Shephalbury Park will be the first project completed in the region”.