Anyone for tennis?
We certainly enjoy settling into a delicious bowl of strawberries whilst watching the highlights, non-more so than Harriet, who was a junior Wimbledon star in her day.
If you get inspired to start digging up your garden to put in a tennis court, we have asked Harriet for her advice on the key details you may want to check out before doing so.
Putting your own tennis court at home is exciting and under normal circumstances, the construction of a tennis court does not require planning permission in the gardens behind a private house.
The planning rules for tennis courts come under, and are specifically mentioned in, the general rules for outbuildings which state that an enclosure below a height of three metres does not require planning consent.
There are just six reasons why you would need planning permission for a tennis court.
- The house is listed.
- Permitted development rights have been removed.
- The house is in an area of outstanding natural beauty or a national park.
- Significant civil engineering works are required.
- It would be more than 50% of the garden.
- It is not in the garden but in a field. If the land is agricultural, this will need a change of use permission.
Other points to note. If you plan to put floodlights in, these are regarded as an elevated outdoor light source and could affect neighbours, therefore you will need to gain permission before you have them put in. It may be worth considering retractable floodlights to assist your case for the application.
Finally, if you are erecting a fence around the tennis court, this may also need planning permission as these fences tend to be higher than 1.8 metres.
In any case, it is always best to seek advice from your local council as there may be some specific regulations in place that they can make you aware of from the beginning.
From a player’s perspective I would, if possible, plan that the court is in a north to south-facing position rather than east to west, so that on a summer’s evening, it will shine across the court and not in the face of the players. Always much more enjoyable!
If you would like to chat to us about any plans you may have around putting a tennis court in, do get in touch and we can help with any further planning queries.
Contact Harriet via email at h.jones@barbers-rural.co.uk or call 01630 692500