A tennis club is seeking permission for later hours for new floodlights, as it says it cannot operate fully.

There are four all-weather tennis courts at Mapledurham Lawn Tennis Club and two of them (courts one and four) currently have floodlights.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) approved plans to erect new floodlights on the other two courts (two and three) in August 2019 but said the new floodlights, which have not been erected yet, could only stay on until 8pm.

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The current floodlights are allowed to stay on until 10pm, and have been in operation for 15 years according to David Maynerd, chairman of the Mapledurham Lawn Tennis Club.

Mr Maynerd, who submitted the application, said: “The restricted use of the new floodlights up to 8pm makes it impossible for the club to operate on all four courts in the summer when the lights are only needed after 8pm.

“In the winter it makes it difficult on Tuesdays and Thursdays when junior coaching is using two courts up to 7pm or 8pm.

“These new lights were very expensive to install and of course the club wants to maximum use of them.

Neighbours of the tennis court, which is by Upper Woodcote Road, previously raised concerns about the floodlights plan, saying it would cause “intense light intrusion” and would be “detrimental” to their “quiet enjoyment of the environment”.

While the council approved the plans, they responded to neighbours’ concerns by adding the condition that the floodlights cannot be used after 8pm or before 9am.

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Mr Maynerd said the tennis club went to great lengths to reduce the light spill into an adjacent hedge to zero by lowering the lights and reducing the wattage and “the few adjacent neighbours should not be affected by the new lights”.

He added: “Since the other two courts get used until 10pm anyway the extra noise of a two more balls being hit and occasionally scores being called can hardly make any difference to any neighbours.”

The tennis club chairman also highlighted and refuted a concern from a neighbour who had claimed they played after 10pm on courts two and three.

He said: “The lights actually switch off automatically.”