Latest news with #LeeValleyRegionalParkAuthority
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
London 2012 tennis courts to make way for padel
Tennis courts built for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are to be replaced with padel courts in a move that has infuriated tennis plan is to turn four indoor tennis courts at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in north-east London into nine courts for the emerging racquet sport - which is a blend of tennis and Dawson, boss of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, where Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is, insisted the changes were essential.A petition against the plan has attracted more than 1,500 signatures. Mr Dawson said: "We need to make sure these great public assets, these great public Olympic venues are relevant for a wider section of the population."So we are very much responding to trends... here we are 13 years on from the Games and we need to make sure these legacy venues continue to deliver." But the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) called the plans "particularly disappointing". It said: "The LTA and Tennis Foundation invested half a million pounds in the original tennis facility which is an important legacy from the London 2012 Paralympics."The courts are still heavily used with over 700 children on the programme, 100,000 players accessing the facilities each year, a thriving disability programme and links to local schools." Tennis player Kimberly Schreiber called the scheme an "insult".She said: "What is disappointing is that this decision to replace our indoor courts is that it has been done with no public consultation, and it's just really an insult to the vibrant and diverse community that this tennis centre supports." Omosuyi Fred-Omojole said: "I understand the perspective of wanting to leverage the growth of padel, it absolutely makes economic sense, but it should not be done at the expense of the existing, thriving, indoor tennis community."Wheelchair user Ivan Vershigora said wheelchair tennis was his highlight of the week. "I feel very sad about them converting the indoor courts to padel because the tennis is like a very fun sport to do, especially if you are in a wheelchair." Playing outdoors in winter would be difficult because of poor weather, said Mr Vershigora. He would though, he added, try courts helped eight-year-old Isaac reach national championship standard. He said: "The indoor courts are really important because you can't really practise in the winter because it is very rainy and cold." The venue has six outdoor tennis courts in addition to the four indoor courts, which will not be affected by the Dawson said by converting the indoor courts into padel ones, it will mean the centre, which also has two hockey pitches, will be more beneficial to more people. "We'll have three sports rather than two, which means more people can get fit, can get well, can meet in a social setting," he said.
Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
London 2012 tennis courts ripped up for padel
Tennis courts built for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics are to be ripped up and replaced by padel courts in a move branded an 'absolute betrayal' of the Games' legacy. Telegraph Sport can reveal that the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park's Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre will spend almost £500,000 – part-funded by the taxpayer – converting its four indoor tennis courts this summer into seven double and two single padel courts. The plans have emerged almost 13 years since the venue hosted the wheelchair tennis at the 2012 Paralympic Games, just over 11 since it opened to the public following a £30 million revamp, and days before the start of Wimbledon. The change, which will force thousands of tennis players onto the site's six outdoor courts all year round or to find alternative indoor courts elsewhere, was given the go ahead last week by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) with no public consultation. A petition was launched on Tuesday by users of the centre calling for LVRPA, a public authority part-funded by a Council Tax levy, to 'reverse' its decision. Among those to sign it was Olympic Park resident Sinjon Vedi, 48, who told Telegraph Sport the plans were an 'absolute betrayal' of the London 2012 legacy and Sir Andy Murray's 2013 Wimbledon triumph. Vedi, who said he played at the venue 'four or five times a week' and that his daughter was also a regular there, added: 'This is a betrayal of everything that happened during the Olympics. Padel isn't an Olympic sport. 'To demolish some of the most beautiful courts that were built in honour of the Olympics, and as part of Andy Murray's legacy, all of that has been thrown away.' He also said coaches who worked at the venue had been left 'heartbroken' and 'wondering what happens to them now', adding: 'Without the coaches, without the indoor courts, I do genuinely think I can see the tennis there completely disappearing.' A proposal for two of the venue's outdoor courts to be converted for padel was rejected in February by the publicly funded LVRPA because of concerns over 'the balance of available capital against projected income'. That was despite the plan having been approved by Greenwich Leisure Ltd, the charitable social enterprise that operates the venue under its 'Better' brand. LVRPA chief executive Shaun Dawson also told Telegraph Sport a 'hybrid' option that would have seen some indoor tennis courts retained was similarly rejected because padel is a 'very loud' sport unsuitable to take place alongside tennis. Denying the approved plans represented a betrayal of the London 2012 legacy, he said: 'Legacy doesn't stand still. Legacy has to evolve; otherwise it becomes a white elephant.' Dawson said LVRPA was aiming to 'double the footfall, double the levels of participation' at the venue by introducing a sport he proclaimed to be 'far more inclusive' than tennis, adding: 'Outside of Wimbledon, there are tennis courts across the land that are empty.' He was also confident the £490,347 cost, around 30 per cent of which he said would come from the taxpayer, would be recouped within a few years. A report to the LVRPA's executive committee last week described padel as 'the fastest growing sport in the world with participation more than tripling in recent years' and stated the Lawn Tennis Association itself had committed to doubling the number of courts in the UK from 500 to 1,000. It also said of tennis: 'Nationally the demand for tennis is declining – according to figures produced by APS (Active People Survey, Sport England), in 2008/9 there were one million people who played tennis monthly and 530,000 who played weekly. In 2024 the numbers had dropped to 694,000 and 384,000 respectively. Participation is down by nine per cent in the 16-25 age group, compared with a five per cent decline across all ages.' The report acknowledged the conversion of the indoor tennis courts could have 'a negative impact on the venue's tennis coaches who deliver private tennis lessons'. It added: 'However, there is an opportunity for the coaches to become qualified padel coaches and increase their income by working on the venue's padel course programme and providing their own private lessons.' The report said there were two 'major' padel developments in nearby boroughs of Stratford and Ilford, 'which are showing rapid growth'. It added: 'The Stratford development is built on land earmarked for development and so will be displaced in 2026.'
BBC News
25-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Enfield: Plans progress for London artificial surfing lake
London could get "a slice of the ocean inland" as plans for a £50m artificial surfing lake progress, the company behind it has said. The Wave wants to develop 56 acres of land in the Lee Valley regional park in Edmonton, north said the project is in its early stages but they hope to submit a planning application in the plans are due to go to public consultation next month. A purpose-built surfing lake, green space, skateboarding areas, playparks, and health and wellbeing activities could see 100 acres of land transformed.A spokesperson for The Wave said it has signed a contract with Endless Surf to install the wave-making technology. Hazel Geary, chief executive of The Wave, said she was "so excited" the plans are progressing as London "is the perfect location" for inland added: "We have been working closely with Lee Valley for a number of years to develop plans for this incredible, but underused, land in Enfield".The project is also intended to increase biodiversity, enhance green space, and encourage people to engage with nature, the company Lee Valley park is already home to an artificial white water rafting centre, and hosted the canoe events for the 2012 London Olympic games. Shaun Dawson, chief executive of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), which owns the land, said he supported the project and hoped it would bring visitors and jobs to the area."This would open up surfing for millions of people," he said.A final planning decision will eventually have to be made by Enfield Council and the mayor of London.
