Harrogate multi-million pound tennis centre gets the ball rolling

Work has commenced on a major new multi-million pound ten-court tennis centre in Harrogate.

Construction has finally began after nearly a decade of searching for a site, complex planning and funding negotiations were being carried out by Spa Lawn Tennis Club

The club’s chairman, Nigel Bentley, has worked on the scheme virtually full time since retiring in 2011.

Work on phase one of the project starts following the exchange of contracts for the new Harrogate Spa Tennis Centre to lease land at Harrogate High School with six full-size outdoor courts due to be in use in August.

This partnership will enable students to use the centre, and give them the opportunity to choose tennis as part of their curriculum studies as well as get taught by professional coaches.

As soon as the new centre is established, Spa Lawn Tennis Club, which was founded in 1947 and has about 100 members, will be able to leave its base in Kent Drive where the tennis facilities are no longer appropriate for the modern game.

Negotiations for the project involved Spa Lawn Tennis Club obtaining planning consent from Harrogate Council for 13 homes on its Kent Drive site and relinquishing its lease. All legal contract work on behalf of the tennis club has been handled by Barber Titleys solicitors, Harrogate.

Floodlit artificial grass will be featured on three courts, and tarmac will cover an additional three.

Phase One also includes a new access through Claro Park, the re-location of the club’s temporary club house, a car park and taking utility services to the site. The work is being undertaken by Harrogate-based building contractors, HACS Group, and will cost several hundred thousand pounds.

Phase Two of the development of the tennis centre, which needs further funding, will provide four indoor courts, changing rooms, café/bar, a gymnasium and a table tennis suite, and to start by the year end.

Mr Bentley said: “Tennis is a fantastic, inclusive sport but, if it is to thrive at grassroots level, we have to broaden its appeal.

“We currently have members aged from five to 87 but the membership is declining because the basic facilities are inadequate for the modern game. This spurred the search for new premises and the opportunity to develop significantly enhanced facilities.

“For UK tennis to prosper we need to create more centres attractive to young and old and where people can play all year. The Lawn Tennis Association supports the new centre and provided funding for the planning process and a bridging loan for the initial development.

“Getting this far has been highly complex but worthwhile as the scheme has huge potential for tennis and table tennis in Harrogate. We could not have got this far without Barber Titleys first-rate support and advice.”

Head of property at Barber Titleys, Richard Davis, a partner, added: “Nigel Bentley and Spa Lawn Tennis Club need congratulating on their vision of the future for tennis in Harrogate and sticking with this hugely complex task which we hope can help the town nurture many more tennis players, and who knows, perhaps a future Wimbledon winner.”