RETIRED tennis players are “outraged” – saying the town council did not consult them before approving plans to rip up two tennis courts to make room for a new car park in Woodley.

Work is set to begin as early as September this year to put in a new 3G football pitch in Woodford Park.

As part of the development, Woodley Town Council will be putting in 59 extra car parking spaces at the Haddon Drive park, at the expense of two of the three tennis courts.

The space where the courts currently sit will be turned into a five-a-side football pitch, which can double up as a parking space if the main car park overfills.

John Mason, representing a group of 12 tennis players who have used the courts to keep fit for more than 20 years, said the group had no idea about the plans until it was reported in the Woodley and Earley Chronicle.

John said: “We have anything up to 12 players, depending on the day, we have at least four each session because we play in pairs.

“The town council know we use it but they told us we are the only ones who use it, which isn’t true.

“We may be the only people who use it on a regular basis but there are quite a lot of schoolchildren who play there.

“We always use a minimum of two courts.”

The group meet to play twice a week on Monday and Thursday afternoons all year round, and play in all weathers except snow.

Each pair pays £7.80 per session, which gives them two hours’ access to the courts.

The town council have stated that they will be revamping the sole remaining court, with a re-surfaced playing area.

John, of Chard Close, Woodley, said the “anti-tennis” council hadn’t considered the implications to children in Woodley’s growing population of ripping up the courts.

“We are outraged,” the 84-year-old said. “We couldn’t believe it when it was first reported by the Chronicle. The council has not consulted us, we have not been informed in any way, shape or form, that is why we are so angry.

“The population of Woodley is growing and how many of these young families will want to play tennis? The council have not thought this out.

“It’s disgraceful that children are losing these facilities.

“Every year before, the children at the park’s summer camp were able to play tennis, but now they can’t.

“The council are anti-tennis.”

Councillor Bill Soane, chairman of the town council’s leisure services committee, said the council was unaware of Mr Mason’s concerns, and he would be contacting him soon.

He said the council had met with representatives from a tennis club in Woodley, and was under the assumption they would discuss the outcome with their group, but he couldn’t be sure if they were members of the same club.

Leader of the council Cllr Keith Baker added: “We don’t have enough people to keep one court going, let alone three. We have kept one going because there is a group that uses the courts regularly on a Saturday who have used it for a long long time.

“I have arranged with Bulmershe College for that group to have access to their courts for a reasonable rate, and I also offered for them to use the Woodford Park courts free of charge while building works are going on.”