• Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Aneurin Leisure Trust, and the LTA agree additional Park Tennis Project partnership, this time at the Bedwellty Park tennis courts.

• The project follows the £37,516.70 transformation of Six Bells Park last year and will see a further £57,300.38 investment in Bedwellty Park.

• The investment comes from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation’s Park Tennis Project, being delivered by the LTA.

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Aneurin Leisure Trust and the LTA have announced an additional partnership to invest in and refurbish the public park tennis courts at Bedwellty Park in Blaenau Gwent, as part of a £57,300.38 investment helping to ensure more high-quality facilities are available for the local community. 

The project is part of a nationwide £30million investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA. The Parks Tennis Project has also seen £37,516.70 invested into the renovation of park courts at Six Bells in Blaenau Gwent in 2023 - to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain, opening up the sport to many more people.

Through the investment, thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition are being brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country, and as part of the renovation, new gate-access technology and booking systems are being implemented to improve court accessibility and make it easier for players to find, book and get on court.

Park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get active, delivering significant physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits to participants. Accessible facilities in parks are particularly critical to opening up the sport to those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women and girls.

Alongside the investment, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Aneurin Leisure Trust will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly organised free park tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided, meaning that people will not need someone to play with or their own racket. Local Tennis Leagues will also provide friendly, sociable, opportunities to get active through local competition. 

Bedwellty park tennis courts will also be available to book online including via the LTA website as is the case with the Six Bells site, making it far easier to find and book a court or activity.  

Work on the site started in February 2024 and is expected to be completed by June 2024.

Phillip Sykes, Operational Director for Aneurin Leisure Trust said:  "The refurbishment of the tennis courts is a welcomed development at Bedwellty Park. We are very grateful to the Lawn Tennis Association for this incredible programme to improve the tennis courts at Bedwellty.  It will be a top-quality facility for community members, groups and schools to participate in tennis regardless of ability or previous experience, and there will be affordable opportunities for all."

Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said: “We are delighted to once again partner with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active. This investment is part of the UK Government and LTA’s Parks Tennis Project, and will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come. We will also be working closely with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Aneurin Leisure Trust to ensure that the local community have a range of accessible opportunities to get on court, and open up our sport to many more people.”

Pictured below is the tennis courts at Bedwellty Park before the renovation work begins: