Tennis players in Birmingham will have to pay £6 per hour to use the courts at Bournville Park from June 20, a move that has sparked disappointment among locals.
New Charges for Court Hire
The fee, which also includes an annual pass option for £52, was announced on the Bournville Park Facebook page. The park management stated they had negotiated some concessions, including free community tennis sessions on Sunday mornings and the summer holiday scheme.
In a Facebook post, Bournville Park said: "Disappointed to have to announce that from June 20th, the company which runs Bournville Park tennis courts for Birmingham City Council (Microsport) is going to start charging for using them. To be clear, this decision has nothing to do with us. We have negotiated with Microsport so that we still have some free court time for our community tennis on Sunday mornings and our normal summer holiday scheme. All the activities FoBP organise will still be free."
Mixed Reactions on Social Media
The news has drawn a range of responses from the community. Sally Steward commented: "This was inevitable when they took over repainted and put locks on. It would have been better to leave them as they were and the local community raise money to repair. Very sad."
Cheryl Homer added: "Yes very disappointing. I don’t think a private company should be allowed to be involved in a public park. If it was a small charge by the lta or council put directly back into the park that would be different. £6 an hour is too much, a proper match takes longer than that anyway. It might stop people booking though and not showing up which is very selfish. (For those who can afford the annual pass you may be able to put pressure on to keep the courts in good condition.)"
However, not all feedback was negative. Adam Warden said: "£6 per hour is great value! What else can you do for £6 these days?"
