Vision for Summerway
The document below is a letter sent to the Devon County Sports Development Officer in May 1999. It was widely distributed as it set out the case for much needed expansion. Membership had been at full capacity for many years, and there was a long waiting list. Club activities, as well as membership, were being curtailed by the lack of courts.
A report of the Director of Education Arts and Libraries was submitted to the Exeter Committee of the Devon County Council in December 1999. This officer did not consult with the Club in any way, and so had little or no idea that his recommendation to relocate, which he referred to as a better option, was completely unrealistic considering the nature of the Club and the motivations of its qualified volunteers.
This report was accepted by the Exeter Committee, effectively burying the Club’s
proposals to be of greater service. This has been confirmed by time -
Reader, are you able to see the Vision in the document below? Those councillors and officers of Devon County Council responsible for this sad outcome were clearly unable to do so.
Objects of the Proposed Expansion
Corresponding Notes Underlying and Amplifying the Objects
Other Points Concerning the Development of the Premises
The Locality Outside the Club Perimeter
Summary of Possible Use of Courts
To: The Devon County Sports Development Officer
Dated: 11 May 1999
Dear Mr __________
Thank you for the time you shared with me on site at the Exeter (Summerway) Junior LTC a fortnight ago. I found it most helpful in clarifying my thoughts on a number of aspects regarding the possible expansion of the facilities should the schools’ merger go ahead.
As you will have gathered, while I enjoy many facets of the game, I am not a tennis fanatic. My continued involvement after my daughter’s nine years with the Club has far broader and more altruistic motivations, and my concern is for the local community as well as for the children and families which form the Club itself. I view the tennis as an excellent vehicle for use in character building and the healthy physical development of the youngsters, giving them strong guidance towards becoming good citizens. For such a small Club, Summerway has produced more than its fair share of high flyers. These are but a tiny part of its contribution to the game and to the community, however, as many hundreds of other playing members have passed through and received substantial benefit from this gem amongst the County’s sporting assets.
It is these broader issues which currently place a heavy responsibility upon our shoulders as the locality faces possible change. If those of us who are most involved get it wrong, immense damage to the local neighbourhood could result, and a priceless opportunity to provide for our children be lost for the foreseeable future. My present determination to work for the expansion of the Club derives from the considered conviction that this is the right way forward for everybody concerned, and it is not driven by any selfish desire to put the interests of the Club before those of the wider community. It is my opinion at this moment in time that the interests of both neighbourhood and Club concur.
There needs to be an awareness of a danger accompanying the discussion of enlargement. It may well be that the Club would be damaged by an adverse decision regarding expansion unless there are very cogent reasons for it. The Committee and the membership are expressing great enthusiasm for the plans and ideas which I am presenting in this letter, and a disappointment based on a seemingly arbitrary rejection might greatly weaken the voluntary support upon which Summerway depends, besides possibly causing a furore of anger that will please nobody.
It is also very important to stress that the Club has been seriously over-
I will now list a miscellany of points, some referring to the enclosed diagram, which may be helpful material in the production of a development plan, and which may also give some idea of our vision for the future of the Summerway Club. These are numbered for ease of reference only, and do not indicate priority.
1. Objects of the Proposed Expansion
a) to allow more than one activity to take place at any given time
b) to ease overcrowding and improve safety during group coaching
c) to cope more adequately with the large number of beginners
d) to provide a more feasible base for the administration of tournaments
e) to enable an increase in membership
f) to develop links with eleven or more middle schools
g) to make facilities available to those middle schools in school hours
h) to add facilities suitable for any potential disabled playing member
i) to make possible some evening activities from October to March
j) to add a practice wall facility
k) to provide a shower and extend changing facilities
l) to provide secure overnight accommodation for equipment at times
m) to provide additional shelter from wind and rain during showers
n) to ease court availability for the Club’s internal Singles competition
o) to provide Tennis for still more families normally excluded by cost
p) to make provision for parking facilities
q) to provide incentive for voluntary group coaches
r) to enable playing members to maintain a coaching link beyond age 18
s) to provide incentive for the Committee and group coaching assistants
t) to encourage suitable members to consider a coaching qualification
u) to allow home friendly matches to be arranged without major disruption
2. Corresponding Notes Underlying and Amplifying the Objects
a) The Club caters for a variety of activities, some of which preclude all others when they occur. Typical examples are the home fixtures for the teams competing in divisions of the East Devon Lawn Tennis League, group coaching, and the summer and winter sessions. These make it impossible for the day to day practice, individually arranged box matches, home matches in postal competitions, individual coaching, recreational play, and all the rest to take place. With only two courts at our disposal, all normal activity frequently grinds to a halt with the great majority of the playing members excluded. This needs to be rectified.
b) The Club is streamed into four grades from 1 to 4 according to ability, irrespective
of gender, with the beginners’ group being by far the largest. The beginners are
therefore split into two sub-
c) The Double Gates shown on the diagram between Courts 1 & 2 and Courts 3 & 4 either slide (preferred) or wheel open to yield a central gap of between twenty and thirty feet, preferably the latter. These would remain closed and padlocked at all times with the exception of the beginners’ group coaching, possibly that of Grade 3, on occasions during Summer/Winter sessions, and maybe middle school use, when they would be opened, or partially opened, to give the coach a central position from which to control the activity on all four courts with the help of parents or other assistants. The gates would not be available for normal Courts 3 & 4 access, and would not be opened if there was any possibility of balls passing through the gap at even moderate speed. The gap would be the natural point to which the coach would call players from all four courts in order to explain technique or the next activity, and would only be used with discretion, safety being foremost in mind.
d) Exeter has a big problem with courts for significant tournaments. The difficulty
lies not in the total number of courts within and around the City, but in their dispersal.
The Club hosts annually a substantial LTA officially sanctioned junior tournament
each autumn half-
e) The high demand for membership of Summerway means that the Club cannot advertise
and promote itself, as every place is filled by personal recommendation very early
in the season. The Club is active morning, afternoon and evening each Saturday and
Sunday, and each weekday evening, from early April to late September, and the limit
of eighty-
f) While LTA policy is to promote links between tennis clubs and secondary schools with their feeders, this is not suitable for a juniors only club like Summerway. Effective links between club and school need to be at middle school level in this case. Most of the City’s high schools have some tennis facilities, but I cannot think of any local middle school having anything specific. By the time youngsters have progressed from middle school at age 12 not having sampled the game properly, it is too late to expect tennis to become their major sporting interest, even if it is the game to which they are most suited. For this reason, the Club would like to extend the use of its facilities during school hours from just Summerway Middle School to at least ten other middle schools which come immediately to mind. Unless the schools are within easy walking distance, they are unlikely to make use of the Club’s facilities on a frequent basis, but it would be a tremendous asset for the others to be able to plan the occasional trip to make the children aware of the possibilities of playing tennis. The increased membership would almost certainly derive from these middle school links.
g) The Club would envisage that interested schools would hold a set of relevant
keys and have access to Courts 1 to 4, U/D Loo, Shower & Chg.Room and the Half-
h) The Summerway Club was not designed with the disabled in mind, and there are
physical characteristics such as steps, narrow gates and inadequate access to the
loos in the clubhouse which would make it most difficult to cope with a disabled
child wishing to play wheelchair tennis. While not marked on the diagram, it is
envisaged that there would be hard and level access to the Half-
i) While not shown on the diagram, it is hoped that at least two courts, preferably
Courts 5 & 6 , will have floodlights. These courts have the disadvantage of being
closer to housing, but there is some screening by trees and hedges, and the courts
would be on a lower level than the other four, which is in their favour. We appreciate
that lighting will require expert advice and sensitive planning permission. The
difference that some lighting would make is enormous. At present, the Club can only
function at weekends and holidays for half the year from October to March. We would
not require permission to use the lighting beyond 21:30hr as an absolute deadline
each evening, and would write 21:00hr in the Club Rules to ensure any slight overrun
never transgresses that absolute deadline. Attention will have to be given to a suitable
method to control the use of the floodlighting. Lights on two courts would greatly
enhance the desirability of the Club to the more serious part of the membership which
plays competitions and tournaments, and currently experiences difficulty obtaining
mid-
j) A practice wall would add another dimension to the Club’s facilities. It would
have such uses as an aid for the coaches, for warm-
k) The clubhouse consists of one room with doors at each end giving access to two
small cloakroom-
l) Another major consideration is the lack of security overnight, which means that
the vast amount of equipment needed for a tournament has to be loaded each morning
into a vehicle, unloaded and set up at the Club, re-
m) The new building comprising the Secure Office, U/D Loo and the Shower & Chg.Room would have a six feet wide paved surround covered by transparent roofing similar to that used for carports. This would give shelter from driving rain and sudden showers when the Club is in heavy use. The only other shelter on the premises is the clubhouse, the verandah of which is always available whether or not the clubhouse itself is open.
n) The Club is extremely active in promoting singles play in spite of court limitations.
In particular, an internal league of divisions consisting of four members each is
organised. Participants play matches of one tie-
o) There are a significant number of one parent families in membership, as well as others who would not normally be able to afford the typical high costs of playing tennis. Making the game available to children of low and basic income families is regarded as a high priority by the Club’s Management Committee, and every effort is made to adopt policies which keep the enrolment and annual subscription fees to a minimum. The peppercorn rent required by Devon County Council for the children’s use of the premises indicates a similar priority. An expansion of the Club’s facilities resulting in an increased membership would enable more children in these circumstances to benefit from the game.
p) Currently, there are no allotted parking facilities at Summerway. With the recent
reductions in roadside parking, and the housing development (Peel Row) newly built
directly opposite the access to the Club, it would be highly desirable to provide
off-
q) The three qualified Club coaches receive no payment for their services, and have
no more reward than the satisfaction of doing an excellent job and seeing progress
in the children. In this mercenary age, they are pure gold-
r) Under the present constrained circumstances, no court provision can be made for an older member to continue with private tuition at Summerway beyond the age of eighteen, which means in practical terms that the link with the personal coach is broken at this point. It would be of universal advantage to allow serious players to maintain their links with coach and Club where it is agreed that this is desirable and the Club receives some benefit from the arrangement. This can only be achieved with adequate court availability. Such a player would almost certainly have assumed dual membership with one of the City’s adult clubs for the latter years of Summerway membership, which is already one of the paths by which members graduate from the Club.
s) Under the present Club Rules, adults are never allowed on court without children. It would be helpful, however, if this rule were to be relaxed in the case of specific adults only for just one of the new courts, providing its use was not required at the time by junior playing members. The beneficiaries of this perquisite would be members of the Committee and adults giving regular and dependable assistance at group coaching sessions. This would be an incentive to some to be of service to the children in these capacities.
t) The role of assistant to the coaches during group coaching sessions would become
far more prominent if the membership rose, with many more being required. Two-
u) Friendly matches against other clubs are highly desirable at all levels after basic competence has been achieved. As any home match would render all other Club activities impossible under present circumstances, we cannot encourage “friendlies” as we would wish. Once again, the solution to the problem is more courts.
3. Other Points Concerning the Development of the Premises
a) Unless anyone suggests otherwise, in which case we would need to reconsider, the obvious choice for the surface of the proposed additional courts is painted porous macadam. The two existing courts are macadam, but their porosity is questionable in places. Just painting them might bring them into line with the new courts visually, but this would seem unlikely to improve either drainage or footing. Should it be considered desirable to upgrade their characteristics, that would probably entail significant work and cost. We would not wish this to inhibit the proposed expansion, and could live with our present courts as they are if this is required. Obviously, any expert advice would be valued.
b) While not shown and differentiated on the diagram, the single area of the premises not otherwise designated would continue to be a mixture of hard access and grass. That part of the area which lies between Courts 2 & 5 would be entirely hard, and contiguous with hard access linking Gates A, B & D, the clubhouse, and the surround of the new building. At no point would this hard access be less than four feet wide or include steps in consideration of those confined to wheelchairs.
c) Similarly, differing levels are not shown on the diagram, but will need to be
determined. Adding Courts 3 & 4 on the same level as Courts 1 & 2 should present
no difficulty as the ground rises slightly. Courts 5 & 6 would need to be on a
lower level, preferably the same as that of the Half-
d) The mesh of the existing chain link fencing around the present courts is slightly too large, as balls regularly become stuck and occasionally pass through. A slightly closer mesh would be appreciated. While a height of ten feet is adequate where fencing is required between courts, a height of twelve feet at the perimeter of the premises would be a great improvement as this increase would catch a high percentage of balls that pass over after bouncing. The significance of this point rises proportionately with increased proximity between Club and housing.
4. The Locality Outside the Club Perimeter
a) Several years ago, Devon County Council placed a fence and padlocked gate to
seal the gap between the far end of Court 1 and the rear walls marking the end
of the back gardens of houses on one side of The Mede. Presumably, this was to prevent
a right of way being established across the school playing field by common usage
as members of the public, usually the younger element, used the route as a shortcut.
Before this happened, it was a comparatively frequent occurrence to arrive at the
Club to find the courts scattered with debris, frequently from empty drink bottles
tossed high over the fence by returning late night revellers who seemed to delight
in covering the courts with chunks and slivers of broken glass. Since the route
was blocked, this hazard has occurred on one or two occasions only over a long period,
presumably from the band of those seen to climb over the barrier. Before the advent
of the fence and gate, the back gardens of those properties in The Mede may well
have received their share of rubbish from the same source. The Club would not like
to see a return of this peril, and would recommend that in any new development, no
easement be granted over this strip of land. Instead, it seems perfectly suited as
an off-
b) Animosity between the Club and its neighbours has never existed to the best of
my knowledge. Relations have always been positive and encouraging whenever there
has been any contact. It is true that we have received a letter recently from the
doctor’s surgery expressing concern over the trees on the Club premises when there
are high winds, as a number have fallen or shed branches over the years. This perfectly
understandable anxiety is not a bad reflection on the Club, however, and I believe
the issue has been passed on to the Middle School whose responsibility it now appears
to be. If Court 5 and the Half-
c) However high the stop netting around the courts, balls (expensive items) are
bound to escape, and access to the ground around the Club is an important consideration.
If it is possible to retain a suitable strip of the playing field alongside the
two sides of the perimeter currently bounded by open field for use in ball recovery
and by members of the public who wish to watch the tennis, this would be a great
asset. Some imaginative landscaping and a few strategically placed vandal-
d) The occupants of existing housing bordering the Club would almost certainly prefer to overlook tennis courts than to be overlooked by new housing. This might be a small point in the grand order of things, but any resentment or tension that can be avoided is good for the locality. The change from school playing field (benefiting the children) to tennis facilities (benefiting the children) is a smaller change of use and purpose than from playing field to housing, besides which there is a sizable need for greater provision of leisure activities for young people in the area.
e) It should be noted that the Club inadvertently serves a useful purpose, just
by virtue of being there, in keeping the peace in the neighbourhood by isolating
Thackeray Road and The Mede to some extent. Fruit trees in the gardens of the latter
have been observed to receive the attention of young inhabitants of the former, but
war does not seem to have broken out yet! If the Club grows in size, this passive
role grows likewise and might be reckoned as a positive spin-
5. Ownership and Administration
a) The Exeter (Summerway) Junior LTC was founded in 1972, when individuals such as Mrs J___ R___ foresaw and negotiated into existence a tennis club for children, using the facilities previously enjoyed by The Mede Lawn Tennis Club until it folded. Basically, the premises are owned by Devon County Council and leased to the Club at a peppercorn rent, with the administration of the Club residing in the Club’s Management Committee – a voluntary body. The Club has two ex officio trustees, currently J____ C____ and myself, with the present lease expiring in 2006. To summarise, the premises are provided free of charge to all intents and purposes by Devon County Council, and the administration is provided free by the Management Committee, coaches and other volunteers. The children in membership are the beneficiaries, and the fees expected of them are kept to a minimum, as even at this low level they are a struggle for some families to manage, especially if there is more than one child involved.
b) With the current arrangements, the Club is bursting at the seams and is oversubscribed. If Devon County Council reinforces this success by investing in the facilities under discussion in this letter, the Management Committee is confident that it can cope with the increased burden of administration, provided this is on the same basis as hitherto. The risk to the Council is minimal, because the system of administration is proven over many years, and even if the voluntary administration did collapse at some point in the future, the Council’s material asset would still be there in full value.
c) The Club is not totally self-
d) Ownership of the premises by Devon County Council or by Exeter City Council is
far more appropriate than ownership of the premises by the Club itself, as its membership
is transitory by its very nature. It is much better for the facility to be owned
by the community in the shape of a local government body. Administration, on the
other hand, is best handled by the Club’s Management Committee, on the basis that
“one volunteer is worth three pressed men.” Even if you pay the ‘pressed men’,
they are unlikely to have the same care for the children as their own parents and
families. By providing the Club with maintained facilities, local government is
enabling parents and certain dedicated well-
e) If the plans involving the middle schools are implemented, it would be helpful if an appropriate person in the education system were appointed to coordinate school use of the premises, and to liaise with and report to the Club’s Management Committee on this issue. It is clearly important for no problem to arise from a lack of communication or from an indefinite understanding of responsibility.
6. Summary of Possible Use of Courts
Courts 1 & 2 Tournaments Middle schools
Group coaching Timed tournaments
Singles box matches Holiday coaching sessions
Summer/Winter sessions Regular club activity
Courts 3 & 4 Tournaments Middle schools
Group coaching Timed tournaments
League home fixtures Singles box matches
Holiday coaching sessions Summer/Winter sessions
Regular club activity
Court 5 Tournaments (show court) Committee/Assistants incentive
Timed tournaments Wheelchair tennis
Home postal matches Singles box matches
Regular club activity
Court 6 Tournaments Individual coaching
Coaches overage incentive Wheelchair coaching
Timed tournaments Singles box matches
Regular club activity
Practice Wall Tournament warm-
Individual shot development Coaching of specific shots
Individual rally practice
7. Summary of Gates on the Premises
Gate A Disabled access to the Club premises
Ball recovery from the parking area
Gate B Access to Courts 1 & 2 during tournaments
Access to Courts 1, 2, 3 & 4 for group coaching, school use, etc.
Gate C Disabled access to Half-
Gate D Emergency disabled access from the Club
Ball recovery from the surrounding land to the north and east
Gate E Access to Court 5 during tournaments
Disabled access to Court 5
Gate F Disabled access between Courts 5 & 6
Gate G Access to Court 6
Gate H This gate would bear a warning sign: DO NOT OPEN DURING A RALLY ON COURT 4
Access to Courts 3 & 4 during tournaments and for regular Club use
Gate I Access between Courts 1 & 2 and Courts 3 & 4 for school use, and during group coaching for Grades 1 & 2 and possibly Grade 3
Double Gates Normally locked, but opened with discretion for school use, during group coaching for Grade 4 and possibly Grade 3, and when appropriate during Summer or Winter sessions. While an unusual feature, these gates would provide a great practical advantage, ensuring the session organiser has very rapid access to children and assistants on all four courts.
All gates would have a minimum width of four feet and have provision for easy padlocking. Where disabled access is specified, the mechanism for opening and closing the gates would be within reach of a person in a wheelchair, and easy to operate.
8. Other Points
a) Both membership and the ratio of boys to girls is relatively stable from year to year. For the last five complete calendar years, the membership has averaged 85.6 and the ratios (expressed as a percentage) of boys and girls are shown in the following table:
1998 1997 1996 1995 1994
Boys 53% 49% 52% 49% 55%
Girls 47% 51% 48% 51% 45%
These figures are very interesting, bearing in mind that all Club activities make no distinction between boys and girls. The only distinction made between members concerns standard of play, which determines the appropriate grade for group coaching. Considering the nearly 3:1 ratio of boys to girls in many large tournaments, we are clearly attracting a good proportion of girls into the game. There have been occasions when more girls than boys from the Club have entered a LTA tournament, and our girls team has headed the East Devon Junior Lawn Tennis League for the past three years in succession.
b) Obviously, if plans go ahead, the present fence and hedge boundary between the
Club and school playing field, together with its ball recovery gate, will need to
be removed. Perhaps it may be possible to truncate or remove the trees just inside
the southern boundary, and plant a substantial hedge in their place to reduce any
noise and light pollution that might emanate from the Club and affect the residents
of adjacent properties in Pinhoe Road. It is probably worth mentioning that an existing
tree planted in the field may be fairly close to the perimeter fencing near the Half-
c) Where possible, design should reinforce practical requirements. Hard access to Gates A & D ensures that if any mud is picked up on players’ footwear during ball recovery, the majority would be shed on the pathway and not find its way on to the playing areas. Similarly, besides the warning notice, the way in which Gate H hinges discourages players allocated to Court 3 from thoughtlessly throwing the gate open and bolting across the back of Court 4 while play is in progress.
d) Because of the lower levels of Court 5 and Court 6 , they may be edged on the western and possibly northern side by walls or slopes. If this is the case, attention will need to be given to the problem of balls bouncing back on to the court instead of coming to rest near the stop netting. This nuisance could probably be overcome using a bit of imagination, and consultation on any proposals would be appreciated.
e) A proportion of new members join Summerway having had experience of Short Tennis, gained usually from a sports centre or their school. Provision of facilities for Short Tennis at the Club as a part of regular Club activity would not be appropriate in view of the minimum joining age. Should the Middle Schools wish to promote Short Tennis using the service courts during school hours for their younger element, this would meet with the Management Committee’s full approval. However, unless there is consistent surplus capacity at the Club, a lowering of the minimum joining age is unlikely, and Summerway would remain the natural progression for youngsters who outgrow Short Tennis.
f) Participation in the rota of parental supervision is part of every family’s commitment, and a condition of membership. That supervision is provided by one family at a time on each occasion it is required. Should the Club be expanded, it is envisaged that two families would be on duty rather than one, which has distinct advantages. The rise in the number of families involved would ensure that the frequency of supervision duty would not rise significantly, and thus would not increase the burden to the extent where it became somewhat of a disincentive.
g) Almost certainly, there will be several unusual aspects to the proposed development of Summerway that will not meet criteria built into the policy of a number of bodies or organisations. If this proves true, it will be very sad if so beneficial a community project died from mere technicalities. It is to be hoped that sufficient goodwill, flexibility and discretionary powers exist and will be exercised so that all such obstructions are overcome.
h) In the event of these plans going ahead, it will be necessary to consider the
terms of the lease, as this has relatively few more years to run. Bearing in mind
the huge success of the current arrangements over so long a period, an extension
to the lease rather than re-
I’m sorry that this letter has taken so long to compose. I have had to fit it in with all my other regular commitments, and apologise for the many faults of structure and expression which it must contain on account of its piecemeal construction and the lack of time for adequate revision. Hopefully, it lays down the foundation of our case, and gives you a fair idea of our thinking. I trust that you will be able to see beyond the shortcomings, omissions and repetitions of this missive, and share with us instead something of the vigorous enthusiasm we have for this bright vision of the future. We wish to serve the children to an even greater extent than we do at present, but this will only be possible if the Devon County Council is willing and able to give its full support to the enterprise. We and the youngsters will greatly appreciate every effort you make on our behalf to turn this dream into reality.
With all best wishes,
Yours sincerely
Vice-
View a Plan of the Proposed Development as a PDF