The Tennis Courts have now been fully renovated, with a new surface and fencing all round. Two of the courts have been temporarily marked with the doubles-court lines and had their nets installed.
The work to provide three courts, fully painted in a dazzling blue and green will happen in the Spring when the weather is warm enough to allow the paint to dry. The courts are enclosed and incorporate a gate-access system which works with the online booking system.
In the meantime, the Council is working hard to get the court booking system onstream with the LTA and other partners. It is hoped that by late January, the courts can be booked for use.
There will be a small charge through the Winter, whilst the courts and background admin are settling-in, of £1 per court per hour.
From the 1st April, modestly-priced Annual Household Passes and pay-to-play charges will be applied, please contact the Council at its offices (01237 474 976 or email admin@northamtowncouncil.gov.uk) for further details.
Annual Passes will cost £35 per pass. Each Pass can have up to 6 names attached to it. The main Pass holder must be over 18 years of age. Holding a Pass means there would be no further charge for booking courts to play tennis.
Anyone wishing to use the courts without holding an Annual Pass can pay £5 per hour for pay and play use of the courts.
All income from bookings and Annual Passes will be used to maintain the courts to their high standard. Northam Town Council and the LTA have invested in excess of £118,000 in order to renovate the tennis courts for the local community. The LTA contributed £80,000 and the Town Council invested £38,000 which was raised from Section 106 developer contributions and earmarked capital reserves.
Cllr Mrs Claire Hodson, Chairman of the Westward Ho! Park Committee said: “Northam Town Council is delighted to be working with the LTA to refurbish the courts at Westward Ho! Park. This stage of the whole-park project follows on from the installation of a new children’s play area in autumn 2022 and is part of the ongoing renovation works which will cover all the park’s facilities in due course. The park in Westward Ho! is very popular and well used by local people, visitors and holiday makers. It's great to know that the refurbished courts will benefit so many people, with community sessions planned for all to be able access tennis. Tennis is a great way for anyone to get fit and it's sociable too, we look forward to the courts being in active use once again.”
Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said: We are delighted to be working with Northam Town 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 Northam Town 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.”