Local park tennis courts in Hastings set for renovation

Press release in conjunction with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)

• Hastings Borough Council and the LTA agree partnership to breathe new life into local park tennis courts in Hastings
• The project will see £99,923.20 of investment at Alexandra Park in Hastings
• Investment comes from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation's Park Tennis Project, being delivered by the LTA.

Hastings Borough Council and the LTA have today announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts in Hastings. In total, six park tennis courts at Alexandra Park will be renovated, with investment of nearly £100,000 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.

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, Hastings Borough Council and local tennis providers will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly organised free park tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided, meaning 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. 

All courts and sessions at Alexandra Park will be available to book online via the LTA website making it far easier to find and book a court or activity. 

Work is due to start on Monday 3 April and be completed by the summer.

Cllr Andy Batsford, lead councillor for health and culture at Hastings Borough Council, said: "We're delighted to be working with the LTA to have these courts refurbished. The facilities we have in Alexandra Park are popular and well used, it's great to know that this will benefit so many residents. Tennis is a great way to get fit and it's sociable too, I look forward to the sessions that will be running."

Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said: "We are delighted to be working with Hastings 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 Hastings 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."

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The LTA is the National Governing Body of tennis for Great Britain. We are here to govern and grow tennis, from grassroots participation through to the professional game.  Our vision is "Tennis Opened Up" and we're on a mission to grow tennis by making it relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable.  We work with schools, with volunteers, with coaches and with venues across the whole country. We also represent the interests of over 1,000,000 Members, men and women, girls and boys, playing on more than 23,000 courts.   For further information about the LTA and tennis in Britain, visit www.lta.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @the_LTA.