Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which tennis courts have been selected for improvement under the Park Tennis Court Renovation Programme.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As part of the Park Tennis Court Programme, the UK Government and Lawn Tennis Association are investing £30 million pounds between 2022-2024 to deliver improvements to up to 3,000 park tennis courts across Great Britain. The renovation works include the installation of digital access gates, re-surfacing, and re-painting - all of which aim to improve access and increase participation in tennis, whilst prioritising the courts in the most deprived communities.
Since the start of the programme, over £70k has been invested in Cheshire, with 14 tennis courts across five parks renovated directly as a result of investment from the Programme.
Further details of the completed projects for the Park Tennis Court Programme can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/park-tennis-court-programme-completed-projects. We will confirm details of further sites receiving funding later in the year.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many grants have been made through the Park Tennis Court Programme in (a) Wales and (b) the UK since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As part of the Park Tennis Court Programme, the UK Government and Lawn Tennis Association are investing £30 million between 2022-2024 to deliver improvements to up to 3,000 park tennis courts across Great Britain. The renovation works include the installation of digital access gates, re-surfacing, and re-painting - all of which aim to improve access and increase participation in tennis, whilst prioritising the courts in the most deprived communities.
Since the start of the programme, over £800,000 has been invested in Wales with 89 tennis courts across 36 parks renovated directly as a result of investment from the Programme. A further £1.2 million will be invested in park tennis courts across Wales before autumn 2024, meaning in total the programme is forecast to invest £2 million renovating 178 courts across 65 parks in Wales. Completed tennis courts are listed on gov.uk here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/park-tennis-court-programme-completed-projects
More broadly, sport is a devolved matter and therefore support for grassroots sport and physical activity in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is generally the responsibility of the respective Home Nations Sports Councils and devolved governments. In England, we provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Prior to the Park Tennis Court Programme, from 2010 - 2022, Sport England provided over £59 million of support to programmes to facilitate participation in grassroots tennis in England. Sport England publishes data on all grant recipients as part of its register of grants awards, which is updated on a quarterly basis with awards dating back to 2009. Please find the information here,
Dec. 11 2023
Source Page: Park Of Keir Tennis Centre Proposal: FOI releaseFound: Park Of Keir Tennis Centre Proposal: FOI release
Dec. 11 2023
Source Page: Park Of Keir Tennis Centre Proposal: FOI releaseFound: Park Of Keir Tennis Centre Proposal: FOI release
Written Evidence Oct. 20 2023
Inquiry: Women's sportFound: WOM0046 - Women's sport Lawn Tennis Association Written Evidence
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to support the provision of (a) tennis and (b) badminton courts in rural areas.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Supporting grassroots sport is a key government priority and we recognise the role of high quality accessible facilities in encouraging people to take part in sport and ensuring participation rates continue to grow. Our new strategy ‘Get Active’ sets out our ambition to build a more active nation, with a target to get 3.5 million more people classed as ‘active’ by 2030 including 1 million more children.
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Building on their 12 local delivery pilot areas, Sport England is expanding their place-based work so that at least 75% of their investment is committed to areas with the lowest levels of physical activity and social outcomes, including rural areas.
Since 2020, Sport England has invested over £17 million in projects which facilitate participation in grassroots badminton.
In partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the Government is currently renovating public park tennis courts across England, Scotland, and Wales. Between 2022 and 2024 the UK Government has invested £21.9 million, with a further £8.4 million from the LTA Tennis Foundation.
This funding will bring around 3,000 courts in local parks up to playable standard by September 2024. Since the start of the programme, over £100,000 has been invested in South Holland and the Deepings constituency, with four tennis courts at Ayscoughfee Gardens renovated and improved directly as a result of investment from the Programme.
Correspondence Nov. 14 2023
Committee: Culture, Media and Sport Committee (Department: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport)Found: Letter from Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer, Lawn Tennis Association, relating to oral evidence
Oral Evidence Oct. 24 2023
Inquiry: Women's sportFound: Actonians LFC, Swim England, and Lawn Tennis Association Oral Evidence