Keep Council Tennis Courts Free for All

347 of 400 signatures

Haringey's Labour-run council are planning on introducing charges on the borough's council-run tennis courts. With some charges starting in just a matter of weeks.

Haringey Lib Dems believe that access to council courts should remain free for everyone, much like access to parks and playgrounds, and that the introduction of charges will disproportionately affect the poorest in our borough, who are already more likely to have limited outdoor and play space of their own.

Please support our call for Haringey Labour to rethink this decision and Keep Council Tennis Free for All:

(You will be invited to add a comment on how the closure of the courts affects you on the next page)

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More information:

What about COVID?

With the Coronavirus pandemic having a hugely detrimental impact on many people's mental health, exercise and outdoor activity has never been more important, and tennis is a fantastic socially distanced activity to help improve the physical and mental health of Haringey residents.

Why are they doing this?

Haringey Labour's Cabinet Member for Leisure has said that evidence they had received demonstrates that tennis participation increases and widens when a booking system is introduced, as would be done as part of the charges, because ‘hogging by a few’ of the courts is dealt with. So we encourage the introduction of a booking system for our council courts but without charges as is currently done by Lib Dem-run Sutton and Watford Councils.

Will the charges operate all the time?

No charges will apply during "off-peak" hours (6am to 4pm weekdays). But we believe that this will significantly impact the borough's schoolchildren who will have no opportunity to access courts during school hours.

Which courts are affected and when will the charges start?

The planned rollout will be as follows:

Down Lane Park – Nov 2020
Markfield Park – Nov 2020 (summer tennis/winter football and netball)
Downhills Park – April 2022
Priory Park – April 2022
Stationers Park – April 2023
Chestnuts Park and Chapmans Green – unlikely to roll out due to poor condition of the courts