Unless residents start coming up with solutions, according to a paper going to cabinet tomorrow evening, Goswells Park tennis courts next to Alexandra Gardens will become member only courts, accessible to book via an online app, requiring annual membership fees to be paid as well as court fees.
Cllr Ross McWilliams will be proposing the paper at Cabinet tomorrow evening. He is talking to the Lawn Tennis Association about circa £110k worth of funding which will see the 7 tennis courts across 3 locations in Maidenhead and the 3 tennis courts in Windsor handed over to the LTA for one off funding of £110,000 to spruce the courts up.
Reading the proposal, this LTA funding comes with barriers and a 15 year lease!
Forever the courts in Windsor have had free access to all to simply turn up and play when you feel the tennis vibe.
There are more professional facilities at Home Park Lawn Tennis Club, near the Rugby Club and over a Windsor Lawn Tennis Club on Royal Windsor Way, near The Swan Pub.
Having free, easy to access tennis courts is essential for the sanity of local residents. Having to download an online app, to pay an annual fee plus court fees, all make it too complicated. Just let’s play tennis!
There seems to be an obsession with statistics. I can appreciate that having insight into how many people are using the courts can have some benefit, enabling us to say 100 people booked to play tennis this month but will it tell us how long they played, what weight they were when they started and when they finished and other such stats? Will the data be sold on “anonymously” to a data hungry analyst?
The courts have been surveyed by the LTA and for Goswells Park they made the proposed renovations / interventions. Court Re-bind and paint. Fencing. Lite gate.
Well when I went I noticed that one of the nets needed replacing. The courts appeared in good conditions considering it was 2010 they were last refurbished. On asking around it would seem it costs a few thousand pounds to have the courts re-bind and painted, every say 3 years, with new nets coming in around £100. Giving away the rights to the courts for 15 years does not equate to the funding being received for Windsor.
I suspect a local sponsor could be found who could benefit from having advertising boardings around the courts and this would more than address the needs of local residents.
The paper says
“In parallel with this the borough is re-tendering the leisure facilities contract and also developing a sport and leisure strategy with the primary objective of ‘more residents, more active more often and more healthy’, which will support and inform the future role of the leisure facilities as a key strand to our overall sport and leisure delivery in RBWM.”
Funding the leisure contractor to keep their eye on the courts from a maintenance and health & safety point of view makes sense, with funding for maintenance coming from a local sponsor I would argue would keep this venue free to access and play as the mood takes residents, as it has always been.
If you want it to remain the same, make your comments below and I will forward them to all the key decision makers and local councillors so your feelings can be heard. Say nothing and within a few months a digital lock will be placed on the gate and only those willing to pay will get to play… with a few token exceptions… your choice.
Thank you.
Jon
