LTA Enquiry Request
ECC Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act included a nasty surprise. In an email exchange, the Chair of Devon LTA told the ECC Leisure Manager that he did not hold the Council in any way to blame over what has happened. This scuppers the Club’s negotiations with ECC, which can now steadfastly maintain its position and then quote Devon LTA when the Club is unable to accept the terms offered. The upshot of this was that Jim submitted a request for a Full Enquiry to Roger Draper, the Chief Executive of the Lawn Tennis Association. The email was sent 25th June 2007 and its text is shown below.
Dear Mr Draper,
Request for a Full Enquiry into a Very Serious Matter
Please present this request either to the LTA Council or to the relevant LTA department as may be appropriate.
It is with considerable regret that I have to report what I regard as serious misconduct on the part of Mr John Allen, Chair of Devon LTA. I request that a full enquiry be made by the Lawn Tennis Association into the whole circumstances, and great care be taken to ensure that it is conducted rigorously and equitably.
The issues concern the Summerway Junior Lawn Tennis Club, the Exeter City Council and to a much lesser extent the Devon County Council, and the Devon LTA.
Links are given to my website at www.summerway.org for further details.
The Club
The Club was established in 1972 as a partnership between Local Government and visionary individuals led by Mrs Joan Rowsell.
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/partnership8udr68b.html
The Club was hugely successful for decades but, sadly, it is now fighting for its very survival. Exeter City Council have moved the goalposts in more ways than one, and are now unwilling to maintain Local Government’s side of the partnership. This has resulted in the effective ‘constructive eviction’ of the Club from the site, leaving the Club without courts and premises. With ECC’s withdrawal from the partnership, the brilliant concept implemented in 1972 is being destroyed, violating every aspect of common sense.
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/aboutwhat3aupfhd.html
Local Government
From 1999, when the Club sought expansion, to the expiry of the Club’s lease in 2006, we were unable to determine whether DCC or ECC were pulling the strings. DCC were our landlords, but ECC were clearly heavily involved. It wasn’t until Exeter’s Member of Parliament, Ben Bradshaw, wrote to both Councils on the Club’s behalf that we realised from the responses the extent to which ECC were calling the shots.
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/lgtoben0291b4n.html
Characteristics of Exeter City Council personnel give great cause for concern, as they seem to have lost the overall plot in adhering blindly to their prescribed systems and procedures, irrespective of their applicability to any particular circumstance. Add to this arrogance and disrespect for democracy, and the use of discrimination against the less affluent, and we citizens have problems.
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/whydiscrim9yhqsxx.html
I point out that I am delighted about the £150,000 of taxpayers’ money invested in the Tennis Centre at the University, which was much needed. It is ECC’s attitude towards the wider community, which has little cash to spare on leisure, that is bothering us, especially as it impinges on the children.
Please study my email to Ben Bradshaw carefully to see why I am so concerned about the Council.
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/pts4hazel8u9k2p8.html
Devon LTA
The Club is fully affiliated to the Devon LTA, and would therefore expect its full support in its struggle for survival. As with ECC, lip service has been given by John Allen, but actions, with the notable exception of Adrian Cable’s involvement, have proved contradictory. The adage tells us which speaks the louder.
The Club has had the rug pulled out from under its feet by John Allen’s email to
ECC dated 14th May 2007, which is amongst the self-
I learn this morning that John was expressing the official view of Devon LTA. Investigation must be made into how Devon LTA reached this view, as I cannot envisage so many intelligent people examining the circumstances fully and then failing to see the wider concerns of the Club. Either the view is based on prejudice and erroneous preconceptions, or the facts haven’t been properly studied.
Relevant Bullet Points
l Please don’t imagine that I am an isolated individual. My concerns are widely shared, and the extent to which the Club and I are in harmony is easy to ascertain from the resolutions and minutes of our most recent Special General Meeting.
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/sgmresmins268y27.html
l The Summerway Club is not the only victim of ECC’s misguided policies which have adversely affected children’s facilities and the level of vandalism in Exeter.
l Democracy is not totally dead in Exeter, as our MP and the Freedom of Information Act are alive and well. It’s the Civic Centre which is causing concern. Both Ben and I feel a degree of frustration by the situation we face, and Ben is disappointed that he has been unable to satisfactorily resolve the matter for us. All credit is due to Ben for his efforts, but I fully understand the difficulties and what he is up against.
l I’m sure Sue Wolstenholme, Summerway’s President, who has seen the Club in action, would be willing to pass an opinion about its value, both to Tennis and the community it serves. I have a great respect for Sue, and I feel that it would be worth listening to her objective assessment of the Club, whatever that may be.
l Please don’t undervalue Summerway just because it is specifically for juniors and has had only two courts. At least five of our former members have participated in the Prudential National Championships, including my own daughter, which is a fine record for so small a club.
l The LTA have been endeavouring to shake off the widely held view that Tennis is
an elitist sport, and has had some success in my opinion. It is a major game which
ought to be available to all children, and not just the privileged. Summerway is
the only Club affordable to all juniors in Exeter, and its demise would be a huge
step backwards in our City, restricting the availability of Tennis and emphasising
the message that it is only for the elite. I am not suggesting the LTA should fund
the Club. That would not be appropriate, as we are community based and should be
funded by community taxpayers. ECC would be hard-
l Our battle for survival is based on moral grounds and good sense, rather than
on legal grounds. With ECC receiving from DCC what it will legally view as vacant
possession of the site, and with ‘constructive eviction’ not recognised in law as
far as I am aware, I doubt that the Club has any legal rights. We are depending that
ECC will ultimately rediscover its conscience, and review its damaging policies in
favour of more people orientated and child-
l I doubt whether John Allen has ever tried to see things from the Club’s point of view. Had he done so, perhaps he would have seen where the blame really lies. I presume that by exonerating ECC, he is implying that the Club and I bear the entire blame for what has occurred.
l I am aware that John Allen has done much for schools tennis locally, having worked alongside him on one or two occasions, and he has promoted the game in Devon. I am anxious that this betrayal should not detract from the good that he has accomplished, and am only sad that he has tarnished his image so badly.
l My friends and I cannot be the only altruistic people in the country. Someone will eventually listen to those of us standing up for the whole community, and not just for the more affluent as supported by the likes of ECC. When that happens, the Summerway saga will be fully scrutinised. Where will the LTA stand at that time? Will it have joined Exeter City Council and Devon LTA, or will it have made a rigorous examination and supported the Club and the whole of society? This will be an important test for the LTA, as it will reveal whether its heart lies with inclusion, or whether it is basically exclusive.
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/norigour275prne.html
l The Club and I are concerned with principles, and don’t wish to get into personal conflicts.
l One would have imagined that having paid our fees, Devon LTA would have supported our fully affiliated Club. If that were not possible, the very least it could have done was remain neutral. To actually side with the Council against the Club constitutes misconduct in my book, and the use of offensive and inflammatory terms was entirely unnecessary. Of course, I was never intended to see that email. The big question facing the Club now is how John Allen’s (and possibly Devon LTA’s) damage can be countered, and I cannot see an obvious solution at this point. Is the LTA able to see a way of achieving this?
There is rather a lot of material on the website, but I feel it is worth the attention. If further details are required, please let me know. Obviously, you may depend upon my fullest cooperation with your enquiry.
Yours sincerely,
Jim Harle.
(Summerway Junior LTC Membership Secretary)
As the Lawn Tennis Association are likely to put the content of Jim’s emailed request and this website to the Devon LTA in order to obtain their view, it would not be appropriate to post on the website any further information about the enquiry than is currently displayed on this page until after the investigation has been concluded. It is possible that the Summerway email groups may be informed of the progress of the investigation, but only if it is appropriate to issue a bulletin to keep the Club cognisant of matters of which it should be aware.
LTA grant an enquiry (no link)
Jim’s thanks to LTA Chief Executive for his response to the request
Notification Email reporting discovery of Devon LTA Email to ECC
Chair of Devon LTA to ECC Leisure Manager -
Chair of Devon LTA to Jim -
Chair of Devon LTA to Jim exchange -