A near 100-year-old North London tennis club is considering taking the landowner to court over a dispute about extending its lease.
The freeholder withdrew an application to demolish the facilities to make way for housing earlier this year but it is still unclear what will happen to the club when the current lease expires.
In April, Valuable Homes Ltd submitted an application to Harrow Council outlining plans to demolish the courts and clubhouse at The Elms Tennis Club in Stanmore in order to build eight five-bedroom homes. The plan was ultimately withdrawn following opposition from the club and Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) but, with the current lease set to expire in March of next year, the future of the club remains uncertain.
Situated on Pynaccles Close, the site has been a tennis club for 93 years and, following the withdrawal of the planning application, the club requested an extension to the lease. However, they were told an extension would not be granted as the freeholder still intended to build on the site and the club must vacate in March, according to one of the club’s managers.
Jason O’Connor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “As he has no permission to redevelop and likely won’t, we will now be going to the courts to decide and this will happen before the end of the lease.”
The club was put up for auction by the Charitable Trust back in 2016. Despite the club submitting a bid, it was ultimately bought by the developer for £830,000. The freeholder was looking to demolish the clubhouse and seven on-site courts, which includes the four mini-courts and three full size ones, before pulling the plan.
Jason said: “Since the withdrawal of the application, due to the incredible support from locals and players as well as the LTA and Sport England, we have applied to extend the lease so we can continue to offer the community a safe space to play and enjoy tennis for years to come.
“At this point the freeholder has rejected this application and if we cannot get any negotiations and agreement sorted soon then we will apply to the courts.”
Jason claims solicitors have advised the club that it has a “really strong case” and hopes to be successful in court if it goes that far. The freeholder was approached for comment but did not respond ahead of publication.
Despite being a private club, Elms doesn’t have a membership policy – instead it offers ‘pay and play’ facilities to make it more affordable for people locally to play. The club also works with local schools to deliver tennis sessions and allows children to continue to play outside of school time.
LTA Delivery Manager, Amanda Robinson, said there is a huge demand for tennis in the area and pointed to other clubs in Harrow being members-only and not accessible via pay and play. She also suggested that The Elms – an LTA registered venue – is “quite unique” by providing specific mini-courts to cater for young children.
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
