Harrogate nets multi-million-pound tennis development

A MULTI-MILLION-POUND tennis centre will soon be served up in Harrogate after building work began on the site.

Phase one, which is underway, will see six full-size outdoor courts created on land leased from Harrogate High School. Students will be able to use the courts as part of the deal.

Phase Two, which is subject to securing further funding, would add four indoor courts, changing rooms, café, a gymnasium and a table tennis suite, and is scheduled to start by the end of the year.

The establishment of the new centre will allow Spa Lawn Tennis Club, which was founded in 1947 and has about 100 members, to leave its base in Kent Drive, owned by The Duchy of Lancaster, where the tennis facilities are no longer appropriate for the modern game.

Negotiations for the new centre – a new company entity with charitable status – have 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.

Spa Lawn Tennis Club chairman Nigel Bentley said: “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.

“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.”