Ace news for tennis fans – a new operator has taken over the running of tennis courts in public parks across Bedford Borough from Friday 14 June, offering free sessions and learning opportunities to sports-lovers.
The new tennis management operator, National Tennis Association (NTA) will initially take over the running of courts in Bedford Park, Mowsbury Park, Southfields and Allen Park. Linden Road, Addison Howard Park and Russell Park will follow once works on these courts are complete.
The NTA are a non-profit social enterprise who have extensive experience of managing park tennis sites across the UK. Under their management, the refurbished courts will require booking and court fees are being introduced. The income generated from these fees will be ring fenced to cover the cost of maintenance and eventual replacement of the tennis court surface.
Under this new management arrangement, court hire will cost £6 per hour for pay and play, and a great value £40 for an annual household pass, the equivalent of just 77p per week. The annual pass allows families up to four bookings of court time per week and the ability to book slots up to two weeks in advance.
As tennis locations are added into the management of the NTA, each site will have one court that is free to play informal tennis on between 2-4pm on a Sunday. This will still need to be booked, is available on a first-come first-served basis, and once all sites are completed will result in 14 hours of free tennis per week.
The LTA’s Barclays Free Park Tennis initiative will also be launching on the courts. This will offer weekly one-hour group sessions, where everybody is welcome and all equipment is provided. A start date for this will follow shortly.
Any residents (aged 16+) interested in giving back to their park community by helping to run these sessions can complete a free training course – sign up at https://www.lta.org.uk/roles-and-venues/volunteers/free-park-tennis/.
The refurbishment of park tennis courts has been made possible thanks to £400,000 of external funding including from the LTA Tennis Foundation.
A Bedford Borough Council spokesperson said, “The refurbishment of Bedford Borough’s park tennis courts and the securing of weekly free sessions on match-quality courts, is great news for our sports-lovers.
“The Council has been working diligently to secure a capable operator to oversee the management of our courts, and we hope that this can help to secure their future for years to come."
Further details and updates on the park tennis courts, including booking information and coaching programmes are available at www.bedfordparkstennis.org.uk, or contact the NTA at hello@nationaltennis.org.uk.