Council hopes that coaching will be available in the future

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Following the planning applications committee meeting on 13th September 2007, local schools and sports clubs will have improved access to the new national tennis centre at Roehampton which include indoor and outdoor courts.

The centre which was opened by HRH The Queen on March this year is a specialised resource which is geared to producing the tennis champions of the future.

The planning consent granted for the development requires the Lawn Tennis Association to draw up a programme of community access.

The LTA originally proposed 320 hours of community use a year. The final agreement now offers up to 400 hours for

schools and young people and 486 hours for local sports clubs.

In term time schools will have access to two indoor courts a week on two mornings a week between 7am and 8.30am with a two-hour after-school session on Friday afternoons.

Clubs will have two indoor courts on two evenings a week for at least 40 weeks of the year.

Six outdoor courts will be set aside in the evenings for one week each year for a Wandsworth tournament organised by the council's sports development team.

The borough tennis squads will also be able to use four indoor courts for at least four hours a year for coaching and practice.

Planning applications chairman Leslie McDonnell said:

"The centre is already working with the country's best young tennis players. The council was very keen that local players should be able to share in these superb facilities.

"I am delighted that our sports development team have been able to work with planning officers to increase the amount of court time for local schools and clubs. We are hopeful too that the LTA will also be able to offer coaching for some of our most promising players."

September 21, 2007