Tennis courts will stay under council's control (From Gazette)
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Tennis courts will stay under council's control
11:48am Wednesday 19th December 2012 in News
TENNIS courts in Colchester will continue to be run by the borough council, it has been revealed.
Colchester Council was looking for a company to manage the 22 courts in Eudo Road, Shrub End.
Annie Feltham, councillor responsible for leisure services, said four companies had expressed an interest in running the site.
There were fears some of the courts could be sold for housing.
However, it has been revealed the courts will continued to be managed by the council.
Lib Dem Lyn Barton, ward councillor for Shrub End, said it was a victory for residents.
She said: “The Lib Dem councillors in this ward have always been committed to keeping the courts open and available for residents to use.
“We promised residents we would fight this all the way and I am glad we have managed to save the courts.
“I would never vote for the courts to close. I think they are a brilliant facility and I am delighted the decision has been made to make them work.”
Ms Feltham said: “We investigated how best to manage the courts as part of the service review.
“We have to look at the management and development of the courts.
“However, the decision has been taken by the council that we will look to manage them ourselves.”
Comments(3)
Boris
says...
4:42pm Wed 19 Dec 12
roger bacon wrote:Thanks Roger, your comment is as usual very welcome.
Well done CBC. A victory for common sense. Lesure facilities should never be subject to threats to get rid of them for housing. Long may the tennis clubs there thrive.
It is particularly good that, unlike years ago at the Recreation Ground, the management of these courts is not being privatised.The rest of the story is not entirely clear, because CBC could still run the courts while selling some of them off for housing, and Ms Feltham has not ruled that out. When I tackled her about it a couple of months ago, she confessed that she did not know much about the issue. There had never been any talk of closing all the courts.
As for Lyn Barton, portfolio holder responsible for the Osborne Street abortion, I am not sure that I would look to her for common sense.
But, even after those caveats, this is good news, so let's celebrate the fact that CBC does, occasionally, get something right.
Hamiltonandy
says...
11:08pm Wed 19 Dec 12
.
Another example is the rigged sale of Tymperleys where charities were kept out and, as I found, you could be locked out to prevent an inspection visit. The council rejected a viable offer from an office management firm in favour of the status symbol bid of the local jam maker. Funny how that has gone wrong and Tymperleys is heading for its second winter of neglect.
.
Colchester Council puts public benefit way down below pleasing their real bosses - the housing developers.
roger bacon says...
3:44pm Wed 19 Dec 12