Plan to charge at Cannock tennis courts after 15 years sparks concerns

Tennis courts in Cannock, Hednesford, Heath Hayes and Brereton have been free to use for more than 15 years, but the scheme has caused some issues for players unable to guarantee a facility at the time they wanted.

Lack of security at the courts has also led to antisocial behaviour, a Cannock Chase Council report said.

And the courts are now in need of “significant refurbishment”, with the Heath Hayes Park facilities deemed to be in a “particularly poor condition” and considered no longer fit for purpose by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

The national governing body for the sport is offering Cannock Chase Council an opportunity through its ClubSpark scheme to bring the courts up to scratch, by funding “a considerable proportion” of the work needed and appointing specialist approved national contractors on behalf of the authority, clubs and other organisations involved.

Joining up to the scheme would also allow tennis players to check availability at their preferred venues and book court time online before they turn up.

But the move would also require electronic gating to be installed at sites and tennis provision to change from free to chargeable. The self-locking gates would stop free access to the courts, which is hoped would deter antisocial behaviour.

Cabinet members have agreed to start applying to join the LTA’s scheme, which is being promoted to other councils, clubs and other providers across the country. They also approved use of the online booking scheme, installation of gating and a policy change from free to chargeable tennis provision if their bid proves successful.

But concerns have been raised by a number of councillors that residents could face a booking fee of £7 an hour – and the charge could make the courts inaccessible to families on low incomes. Five members – Josh Newbury, Jo Elson, John Preece, Andrea Muckley and Tony Johnson – called in the cabinet decision for further consideration by the health, wellbeing and community scrutiny committee.

They said: “Whilst we very much support the prospect of much-needed investment in our tennis courts, we believe that a £7 per hour booking fee cannot be described as ‘nominal’ and that in light of the ongoing cost of living crisis, it could present a barrier to many residents and their families accessing local exercise facilities and learning the sport of tennis.

"We believe that any proposal which may exclude some residents from accessing sports facilities which they can access currently is a backwards step which does not promote ‘health in all policies’.

“We note that Staffordshire County Council charges a rate of £5.70 per hour, the West Walsall Academy charges £6 per hour whilst Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham and the tennis facilities in the Walsall Borough are free of charge; both of the latter authorities use the LTA ClubSpark system. We feel that more could be done to explore sources of funding to keep tennis courts free, as other local authorities have done.

“If this is not possible, we believe that further work needs to be done on protecting access for our most vulnerable residents, for example by guaranteeing free access for leisure centre concession holders or offering discounts to certain groups of residents in financial hardship. We also ask that consideration be made for whether tennis equipment could be lent to residents, as would be possible at our leisure centres.”

The councillors who called in the cabinet decision initially proposed that the matter be referred to full council. They sought a debate on matters including the policy change from free to chargeable court use, funding sources to retain free provision, discounts or exemptions for residents in financial hardship and setting a minimum number of free sessions across all courts.

Following a debate by the scrutiny committee it was agreed to refer the decision back to cabinet however and support the charging model in principle, so long as a concession scheme was considered to enable the courts to remain available for use by those on lower incomes.

Councillors were told that the scheme in Cannock Chase could be jeopardised if the move to chargeable court use was not agreed.

Councillor Adrienne Fitzgerald, portfolio leader for housing, heritage and leisure, said: “I think if we hesitate too long we are going to lose this opportunity. I think we should give it a go.

“I will look at a concession scheme and how it could be administered. But we have to bear in mind we can’t ask for names and addresses of people using the Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles schemes (for activities run at Chase and Rugeley leisure centres), and neither can the LTA, under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

“We are looking at quite a tight time frame on this and we must have confirmation of a charging model. I’m glad we have agreed to go forward with this application – at the end of the day this is a wonderful opportunity for our residents.”

Councillor Newbury said: “I would like to thank everybody for coming to discuss this and for an open and honest debate. Calling this decision in is not about scoring political points or using the call-in process to make life difficult for the administration.

“We are very much supportive of investment and modernisation. Introduction of a booking scheme will be welcome and it brings us into the 21st century.

Our aim was never to jeopardise this but to ask questions with consideration for our most vulnerable residents. It seems this will now be done.”