Kings Meadow Tennis Courts
We are pleased to announce that the Tennis Courts at Kings Meadow are to be resurfaced together with Basketball practice area which will be made larger at the same time. A new practice wall will also be installed in the existing practice area in the SW corner of the courts. This work is due to start week commencing Monday 6th July 2020.
Historical Need and Funding
The need to restore the surface was first discussed and agreed in October 2018 and three specialist companies approached for advice and quotation. The council were advised that the tarmac surface had exceeded its lifespan and was breaking up where moss had taken root over many years. The non-slip coating had also worn away making it dangerous to play when only slightly wet. The decision from this was that the parish should go ahead with resurfacing whilst incorporating revisions to the practice area requested by the Tennis Club.
The cost of this work is considerable and outside of the funds available to the Parish Council for such work, even taking into account a substantial donation from the Tennis Club maintenance fund. As a result, applications for grants were made, with the help of the Tennis Club, and fund-raising activities within the village embarked upon. The process took considerably longer than anticipated but finally the balance of funding required has been raised from SODC Capital and Councilor Grants, Sport England, and village activities including Brighfest-BubbleDogs and a pub quiz. Details of progress with the fundraising can be found in meeting minutes under Documents on the Parish Council website.
Timing and Schedule of Work
The work was originally scheduled to be carried out in March/April ahead of the normal tennis season. However, the Covid 19 crisis made this logistically impossible, even now the contractor has struggled to line up materials and resources. Although it might seem sensible to wait until the Autumn, the main constraint is that we have timing commitments to the Grant providers. They’ve already given us extensions, so we really need to complete the work as soon as we can.
Although the resurfacing and erection of the practice wall will take approximately a week, the tarmac then needs a further four weeks to “cure”. This process is subject to the weather being moderate and not too hot or dry. In addition, the courts will then need to be painted to LTA standards and the important non-slip coating applied.
So, we expect the courts to re-open mid-August
We are sorry that it’s not the best time, particularly as summer in now upon us and the courts are in demand, but hope you’ll agree that these last few months have presented us all with unique challenges. The village now has a thriving tennis club, with the courts used by villagers and the village school outside of this, we’re sure that the new surface and wall will give the village a facility for enjoyment over many years to come.