Several people have asked me about the tennis courts in the park. A keypad system has recently been fitted to the main entrance from the Capital Ring and which is currently locked. What is going on?
Information is currently sparse. But from two regular players there today I gather that:
- The keypad is in preparation for controlled access from September
- The courts will nonetheless continue to be free from then
- But you will need to register beforehand to get the code (not sure if it will change on a daily basis).
- It is possible that the Golf club cafe may also be able to issue keycodes (to be confirmed).
- This list to https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/PerivaleParkPitches lists the facilities in the park, including the tennis courts, but there is no information there yet about the proposed changes
- One might wonder why, in order to play tennis in the park, you have to reveal your identity (by presumably registering online first). Perhaps the authorities want a better picture of who is using the facilities there and for how long!
- There will shortly be 12 exercise machines installed in the park (delayed by the lockdown). We may presume that one will not need to register to use those?
So currently anyone can still play tennis in the park at no charge, but you do have to go through the back gate, which is not being locked. If the facts as I have asserted them are incorrect or change, I will update here.
Today, litter picking the park I noticed discarded drink bottles in the tennis courts, and then the locked padlock on the rear door which would have allowed me to enter the court remove them. I then tried to book a court using eg https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/PerivaleParkPitches/Booking/BookByDate#?date=2021-08-02 and as a result can confirm that booking is currently free of charge! You can also contact bookings@playfinder.com if you are having any problems booking.
I now have a 30 minute slot (gladly relinquished to anyone who wants to play tennis) to go gather those plastic bottles!
The access code worked just fine, and the offending bottles were scooped up and removed. No tennis players were inconvenienced during this operation.
Interesting. The G4 pitches behind Elthorne Park are padlocked and require a key for access. We negotiated a key for LAGER Can member Gill Randall McInnes, who regularly lets herself in to collect the piles of rubbish. She puts the recyclables (it’s nearly all recyclable) in clear bags provided by the pitch management and cycles home with the bags on her handlebars.