Tennis courts in Mayow Park

[sparticus]

It looks like the new tennis courts in Mayow Park will be pay to play, as persistent roumours have suggested. The gate has been fitted with an electronic key pad lock. The old courts were tatty but they were free, and gave local kids the opportunity to have a knock-about and sometime an illegal game of football. Unless there is a concession structure that allows for it, does this mean kids and casual players will now be discouraged from playing? Doesn't this go against the need to encourage physical activity especially amongst young people, and is it not a great shame that yet another free public facility, once it gets into the hands of a private operator, is monitised and restricted? I appreciate that the cost of the improvements need to be recovered in these straightened times, but wouldn't it have been better to spend less money and keep a free facility?

[Sydenham]

Some news in the link below. Agree with you - turn up and play a great boon to Lewisham kids- impulse opportunity now gone away. Unfortunately its linked to offloading responsibility for these assets from the Council - they couldn't justify expenditure when so many other pressures were on them.

And LTA guarantee to keep them maintained etc. - whether they do or not - and whether held to account who knows.....

Sign of the times - councils offloading all but core/statutory responsibilities onto anyone who will take them.

Even the 'Friends' of all the council parks are being encouraged to do things that used to be the responsibility of the council.

https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/tennisInlewisham

[Ronski]

Wow, bit of an increase from free for casual play reading that site..

"A Season Ticket will be available for unlimited play on the new courts for just £35 per year, or if you don't want to sign up for a year you can use them on a 'pay and play' basis for just £5 per hour. There will be a small additional charge to use the floodlights (£2 per hour for a Season Ticket holders, £5 per hour for pay and play users)."

[Mayowthorpe]

How do these prices compare to other facilities in the area? I imagine it stacks up pretty well.

Personally, I think that paying a nominal amount to use a facility that has been updated and (hopefully) well maintained, is a small price to pay compared to not having a facility in the first place.

The cost needs to be recouped from somewhere, and I would prefer to see the strained council budgets spending their money on more essential services that a tennis court.

I think it's great the courts have been updated; we should all be very grateful.

[prince]

I am working on improvements to some tennis courts myself. The LTA gives grant funding to improve facilities. They want these to be maintained effectively in the future by way of ringfenced monies or by pay to play.

Local government doesn't have the money to ringfence monies and so the only real option is to charge.

I don't know if there are any planned subsidised rates for lower income families.

[Ghlpc]

"Personally, I think that paying a nominal amount to use a facility that has been updated and (hopefully) well maintained, is a small price to pay compared to not having a facility in the first place"

The problem is that there was a facility there in the first place. Ok, it wasn't top notch but it was free.

Children and young people could turn up with a pair of rackets and balls and play. Now they have to pay.

Anyway, this follows type, it's a rich mans sport that only those from privileged backgrounds can progress.

Jumpers for goalposts anyday for me..

[JayB]

Yes, i agree,charging excludes many people from using them. Once public parks seem to be becoming the de facto province of the middle classes who increasingly set the norms and terms on which the rest of us can use them. (Though i suppose from their inception there was always an air of preachyness to the masses about them)
At least the council have been elected and were mandated to take these decisons on our behalf unlike freinds groups who often start out very sincere but are prone to later take over by self-interested groups.I can see that the counci lhas to prioritise things like social care but we still need accountability and to maintain access to facilities by the poorest in society.

[mosy]

Has anyone asked if it will be (or can be made to be) free or maybe a small nominal charge for under 16s? £10 for two merely for use of a court for an hour is a lot - even for not-poor mums or dads.

Presumably now would be the time to lobby before rates shown on the website are set in stone. If they won't agree generally, maybe they would for a limited time each day (say before 6.30 pm) and/or Saturday mornings and school holidays.

[JRobinson]

it's not £5 each - it's one price of £5 for an hour, presumably once you're in you could have a doubles match, so £1.25 each, and if nobody turns up for the next hour, there would be nothing to stop you from playing on until someone does turn up for a booked session, and there are two courts, so you could get 8 people in in one session, playing both courts, if no one else has booked, that session and the next one, you'd be paying just over 30p each (not what they expect to happen but perfectly feasible, if you all agree to use only one court if the other booked, or leave if someone else turns up who has booked the court) they're not going to have any enforcement of timing going in/out other than the electronic gate.

£35 for a year, use it once a week for 10 weeks over the summer, that's £3.50 a time. 35 weeks is £1 a time. you could easily get one or two nights a week, and once at the weekend, you'd get value for money quite quickly, but yes it's still more expensive than free (but unmaintained).

[leenewham]

I presume that the annual fee is to get access to one member of the group that plays and that not everyone needs to pay the £35? If a group of people paid for the membership?

[JRobinson]

I believe that would be correct Lee - otherwise I don't know how they'd enforce making sure taht all players are members without having someone on site at all times, and if they do that, they've got more money than they need, and they wouldn't need the online booking form or the electronic locking gates.

it's probably stretching the T&Cs a bit if a large group of people has access to one username/password. they probably expect the person who's registered to actually turn up and play, and be identifiable. but yes, you might get away with something along those lines.

[BingBong]

The problem with the previous courts was that they weren't maintained and the surfaces & nets pretty shocking. Add to that having to wait for a turn, youths playing football, and even dogs let loose on courts leaving back end deposits, surely revamped, maintained and bookable courts have to be a good thing for those who genuinely want to play? Yes, it would be great if the facilities were still free, but the project cost is over £400,00 - funded in a partnership with LTA, the London Marathon Trust, Lewisham Council and Glendale; which the council certainly couldn't have afforded on their own; nor the ongoing maintenance costs.

Meanwhile there is still free play - the website also says:
"Other courts that are currently free to use and are not part of this season ticket offer are available at:

Telegraph Hill
Chinbrook Meadows
Hilly Fields
Mountsfield Park
Ladywell Fields South (Catford Bridge)"

[Ghlpc]

"Personally, I think that paying a nominal amount to use a facility that has been updated and (hopefully) well maintained, is a small price to pay compared to not having a facility in the first place"

The problem is that there was a facility there in the first place. Ok, it wasn't top notch but it was free.

Children and young people could turn up with a pair of rackets and balls and play. Now they have to pay.

Anyway, this follows type, it's a rich mans sport that only those from privileged backgrounds can progress.

Jumpers for goalposts anyday for me..

I just have to add, while I stand by what I said about it being an elitist sport, I did stumble up some very good coaching sessions recently for kids that were only £2 an hour.

So hats off to whomever organised this and long may it continue.