City tennis courts to get £650k upgrade

The project includes 42 council-owned courts in eight parks

More than 40 public tennis courts in parks across Leeds are set to be upgraded as part of a rejuvenation project.

Leeds City Council is about to sign an agreement for £650,000 of funding from the Lawn Tennis Association to improve facilities in eight parks - two of which are in deprived areas of the city.

If plans are approved on 4 June, the 42 courts would be resurfaced and re-coloured, while new fencing and nets would be installed.

The biggest share of the cash would go to Roundhay Park, where £140,000 would be spent refurbishing 16 courts this summer.

Elsewhere, courts at Beckett Park, Burley, Chapel Allerton, Harehills and Rothwell's Springhead Park would be improved, along with Grove Road Recreation Ground in Temple Newsam and The Hollies in Weetwood.

'Barriers to play'

A council report said the upgrades would "improve park tennis courts which are available for people of all ages and abilities to use for free throughout the year".

“Evidence shows that better quality facilities are more popular and so more people will benefit from them in future as a result of the investment," it added.

Contracts would be awarded to two companies to complete the work between June and September, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The report said: “The tennis courts identified for investment through the scheme are based right across the city, which means they can be easily accessed by a large number of residents.

“Two of the parks, Burley and Harehills, are in wards that are among the 10% most deprived in the UK.

“Gated access was identified as a key technological intervention that would address barriers to play.”

An online booking system and secure access would also be introduced in a bid to reduce vandalism and allow players to reserve time slots, the report said.