A last ditch effort to save a much-loved golf course and ‘vital’ tennis courts once used by Emma Raducanu has been made.
Wirral Council must agree to a budget which saves £20m tonight.
The council’s plan involves a 12-month closure of Wirral Tennis Centre, and a permanent cut in the number of indoor tennis courts after that, as well as the end of Woodchurch Leisure Centre, nine libraries, two golf courses and more.
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But an amendment will be put to councillors at a crunch meeting tonight, asking them to reject the plans for the tennis centre in Bidston and Brackenwood Golf Course in Bebington.
The move, set to be proposed by the Liberal Democrats, will give the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) until the end of March 2023 to come up with a plan which will see all six courts remain open without the council needing to subsidise them as it does currently.
It would also keep Brackenwood open until September 30 while attempts to save it are made, rather than April 1, something which could be crucial to its survival given the popularity of golf over the summer months.
The Lib Dems believe this move would cost the council £55,000 of the £328,000 it estimates will be saved by shutting two public golf courses. It does not change the future of Hoylake Municipal, which is still set to close on April 1.
Cllr Allan Brame, who represents Oxton for the Lib Dems, said: “The Bidston Tennis Centre was built, and later upgraded, with substantial financial support from the LTA. It provides the only indoor tennis facility on Wirral and its six courts enable it to stage important tennis tournaments.
“The LTA is convinced that they can produce an alternative management model that will remove the subsidy the council currently provides to run the centre.
“We are proposing that the plans to close it on April 1 are put on hold to give the LTA the time to prove that their plans are viable. This would also save the council the £2.5m it is planning to spend on re-modelling the building.”
The Lib Dems may only have six of Wirral’s 66 councillors, but the council is in no overall control, meaning parties have to work together to get plans through and opposition parties are able to get motions passed.
Currently, Wirral Tennis Centre’s six courts host competitions. Women’s US Open champion Emma Raducanu is among those to have competed at the centre.
Council documents reveal the temporary closure would allow an upgrade to take place and that an independent consultant has said the current facilities at the site do not complement local needs and demographics.
The three tennis courts set to go will be replaced with an “extensive” soft play and gymnastics offer under the plan.
As well as this, a second 3G astroturf football pitch would be built within the outside grounds of the site in a funding partnership between the Football Foundation and the council.
The council estimates the plan will save it £114,000.
But the LTA, which governs the sport in Britain, has written to Wirral Council asking it to pause any decision on the future of the centre to allow them to come in and help the council develop plans to make the centre financially sustainable.
A spokesperson for the LTA said: “We’re confident that Wirral Tennis Centre can become sustainable and profitable in the long-term. We’re keen to offer our help to the council as they develop plans for the future of the centre.
“Hopefully by working together we can avoid the centre’s closure and the loss of vital indoor tennis facilities.”
As for Brackenwood Golf Course, it is understood there are bidders interested in saving it.
Keeping the course open until September under the council’s control would give the course a much better chance of remaining open in the long-term.
Keith Marsh, Brackenwood’s club secretary, said: “With a library, you can close it down and do a bit of maintenance and cleaning and open it again.
“But if the council closes the golf course in April and does not do any maintenance it will go to wreck and ruin.”
The numbers show just how important the summer season is to the golf course.
Mr Marsh added: “The course makes 78% of its income from April to September, so any potential new operator would be less likely to take it over in September, putting the course in serious jeopardy.
“We need continuity of service, otherwise the course would shut down after 87 years.”
The good news for Brackenwood is that there are bidders interested in taking over the course on a licence agreement, including one which is known to have taken on golf courses which used to be run by a local council and run them successfully.
On the issue of Wirral Tennis Centre and Brackenwood Golf Course, a Wirral Council spokesperson said: “This issue is part of the proposals for the 2022/23 budget and no decisions have been made yet.”
