Quarry Road tennis courts in Swindon set to be refurbished

The Quarry Road facility has been in a poor state for many years but will soon have a new lease of life after South Swindon Parish Council and the Lawn Tennis Association teamed up.

The renovation work will include a new surface, new fencing, new nets, and gates for all three courts.

One of the courts will also require a full reconstruction as it suffers from various sink points due to a defective sub-base and tree root ingress.

Damage to the Quarry Road tennis courts in Old Town, Swindon (Image: South Swindon Parish Council)

The renovation work is anticipated to start in April and will be completed later in the spring, at which point the courts will be available to book via the LTA website.

Parish council chairman Chris Watts said: “These courts are a community facility but have been left in an awful state due to a lack of investment and investing in community facilities for the benefit of our residents is what South Swindon Parish Council is about.

"The scale of renovation to these courts was much higher than we had initially expected, with one court currently sinking into the ground in various areas.

"This extra work increased the cost of this project significantly and we’re grateful to the LTA for providing additional investment to help us get all three courts renovated to the same standard.”

The courts had been managed by Swindon Borough Council until earlier this year when the tennis courts and recreation area off Quarry Road were leased to the parish council for 99 years.

The project is part of a nationwide investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation that 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.

Damage to the Quarry Road tennis courts in Old Town, Swindon (Image: South Swindon Parish Council)

An investment of £94,000 has been made ointo the through the government and LTA Tennis Foundation, with South Swindon Parish Council contributing a further £46,000.

Julie Porter, chief operating officer at the LTA, said: “We are delighted to be working with South Swindon Parish Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active."

Alongside the investment, South Swindon Parish Council will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activities across the site when it is complete.