Tennis boost for park
Publication date: Friday 12 March 2010
Tennis facilities at a Haringey park are to be given a major upgrade, thanks to a £300,000 grant.
The funds from the Tennis Foundation will be used to refurbish the tennis and basketball courts at the Albert Road Recreation Ground in Muswell Hill.
Work has already started and the renovation is due to be completed by the end of April 2010 in time for the summer tennis season. This will result in six brand new tennis courts, four mini tennis courts, and basketball including shorter rings for younger children. The new money will also enable the placing of floodlights in the new courts which will make it possible to play tennis and basketball until 9pm during the darker months of the year.
Peter Droussiotis, Chair of the Friends of Albert Road Recreation Ground since 2003, said:
"This Tennis Foundation grant will bring major improvements to the Albert Road Recreation Ground. The complete refurbishment of the tennis and basketball courts has been our top priority for a long time and we are delighted that our perseverance has paid off.
"This is a major achievement for our local park and the whole of Haringey, made possible because of a team effort by the Friends and Robby Sukhdeo who runs the Pavilion and tennis courts in the park, as well as close engagement with the Tennis Foundation, the Lawn Tennis Association and Haringey Council."
Cllr Claire Kober, the leader of Haringey Council, said:
"This is a tremendous boost for tennis in the borough.
"It will mean that Albert Road will have some of the best tennis facilities in north London."
The park has been transformed in recent years after investment and work by Haringey Council and the Friends of Albert Road Recreation Ground who have worked closely with local schools and the local community.
The Pavilion, which was virtually derelict in the past, has been turned into a thriving community centre and the park now boasts facilities for a range of sports including football, tennis, basketball, Aussie rules, cricket, netball and bowls.
Albert Road Recreation Ground has also won Green Flag status for four successive years and was named as the LTA National Tennis Park of the Year in 2008. The Tennis Foundation has chosen the Albert Rec and White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre as national beacon sites for tennis.
The park is also the home of the internationally acclaimed "Oliver Tambo Memorial" which was visited by the South African President during his state visit to Britain earlier this month.
Last year, Robby Sukhdeo won two national awards from the Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure: the sports development officer of the year award was in recognition of his achievements in the private sector and the overall winner.
Robby is the leaseholder of the Pavilion Café at Albert Road from where he runs Haringey Tennis - providing sporting opportunities for local people and is the event co-ordinator and treasurer for the friends group.
The Friends Group, known as FARRG, is a voluntary not for profit community group made up of local residents working for the whole community, visit www.farrg.org.uk (external link).
The picture above shows Peter Droussiotis, Cllr Kober, Robby Sukhdeo, Gianluca Loiacono, Treasurer of the Friends Group, and Anthony Healey, Haringey Council parks area manager.
Subscribe to Email Alerts | 
RSS News Feed | What is RSS? | News Archive
- Return to Latest News or the News Archive
