Ladywell to become Lewisham tennis hub

I ain't got time to bleed: A predator-eye view of the floodlit courts

Ed writes:

The three tarmac and two grass tennis courts in Ladywell Fields are being replaced by five tarmac courts. Four of them will be floodlit. Having read through the planning docs, here are some of the main points:

- 18 seven-metre high LED floodlights are being installed. They will surround four of the tennis courts.
- The floodlights don’t mean all-night play. They, ’shall not operate after 9.30pm on weekdays, and 8.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays’.
- The frogs and fishes have been thought about. Planners have done light surveys, and the courts ‘must be managed’ so that one of the courts (court 3) is always the last to have its lights switched on. This is to ‘reduce impact from light spillage on the secondary river channel’.
- It’s all part of a strategy… The redevelopment of the courts is part of a borough-wide scheme to encourage us all to play more tennis. Research by the Lawn Tennis Association says that 3,888 Lewisham residents play tennis – and a further 4,940 ‘would like to play in the future’.

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- Borough-wide, there are nine parks with 26 tennis courts in Lewisham. They are all free to use at the moment. However, say the council, ’usage is restricted to summer because of the condition of the courts and the fact that none have floodlights’. (You can’t play in the dark).
- The developments will allow Ladywell Fields to become the HUB site for the borough that connects all the other park tennis facilities in the Borough.
- Lots more people will end up playing tennis at Ladywell Fields. Planners expect: ’12,450 hours of play’ to result because of the upgrade.
- Players will have to pay (the courts are free to use now). Instead of ‘turn-up-and-play’ a ‘pay-and-play’ system will come into use.
- According to the Ladywell Village Improvement Group website: ‘Access to the tennis courts will require a digital fob (that will cost £30-50 p.a. per individual or family). An online booking system will enable fob access for pre-booked, one hour time slots.’

The work on the tennis courts is scheduled to finish by end of March, with the floodlights going up in ‘stage 2’ sometime later this year. You can register your interest here.