THE much-needed refurbishment of some of the city’s public tennis courts looks finally set to start with council planners set to approve plans next week.

Worcester City Council submitted plans to refurbish its tennis courts in Cripplegate Park and install floodlights in the summer and is now waiting for its own planning committee to give the plans the go-ahead.

The facilities in the city park have fallen into a state of disrepair and were worsened when it was used as a compound during flood prevention work in New Road.

The planning committee meets next Thursday (October 24) with a recommendation that the plan should be approved.

READ MORE: Boost for Cripplegate Park tennis courts as council pledges £50,000 for revamp

READ MORE: Tennis courts in Cripplegate Park set for long-awaited refurbishment as plans for new floodlights submitted

READ MORE: Council set to start charging for using tennis courts as part of major improvements

READ MORE: Hourly charges for Worcester tennis courts backed as part of huge council investment

The improvements have been made possible through £215,000 of grants and loans by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

The council would also use £50,000 county council highway compensation put aside as part of the damage caused by the New Road work and £50,000 of its own money.

The city council wants to encourage more people to play tennis and hopes to do so by installing floodlights for the Cripplegate Park tennis courts to allow them to stay lit until 9pm.

The council plans to install 12 of the 12-metre floodlights around the courts and the floodlights would only be turned on if the court was in use.

The council has already said it would be introducing hourly fees to use the new and improved courts but would also offers free training sessions and

Players would be charged £7 an hour to rent the new courts, children would be charged £5 an hour and various concessionary rates would also be offered.

The courts would also be free from 4pm to 8pm on weekdays and between 10am and 5pm on weekends.

To get the LTA grant and loan money, the city council has had to find an operator which would then set up a 'pay to play' charge to cover the cost of loan repayments and maintenance costs.

The grant bid by Worcester Tennis Networks - which is made up of local tennis groups and organisations who want to see more tennis played in the city - was accepted by the LTA in December last year.

The money would also pay for a central booking system which would allow tennis players to book courts across the city from one place and give the council a chance to measure how many people are using the courts.