AELTC Community Tennis Centre

Merton, Greater London

The AELTC Community Tennis Centre is a carefully planned piece of sporting and civic infrastructure that unlocks the potential of a seven-hectare site in south west London, reshaping it as a place that can serve local people while meeting the demanding operational standards associated with elite tennis. Developed to replace facilities that were no longer adequate, the project sets out a clear ambition to create a genuinely shared environment where community sport and high-performance training can coexist without one displacing the other.

The site strategy is fundamental to this achievement. Two new entrances transform how the grounds are approached and navigated, improving access and clarity. An existing maintenance access point in the north west has been upgraded to become the new main entrance, while the former vehicular entrance on Grand Drive has been rebalanced to become pedestrian and cycle access aligned directly with the new clubhouse. This reworking of arrival and movement patterns establishes a more welcoming, legible place, reinforced by an entrance plaza that prioritises pedestrians and integrates planting, seating and feature paving.

The clubhouse is conceived as a contemporary, functional building that supports an expanded range of programmes and users. Its planning is informed by an adjacency and zoning strategy that enables different modes of use across the day, accommodating a broad spectrum of activities while maintaining a coherent experience. Terraces overlooking the new grass courts extend the building’s civic quality, creating spaces where watching, waiting and socialising become part of the site’s everyday life. Internally, the centre is designed to feel clear and approachable, supporting retail, changing and community use alongside performance-related functions.

A passive design approach is complemented by a gas-free strategy, with energy supplied using air source heat pumps for heating and cooling and to meet the considerable hot water demand associated with heavily used changing and showering facilities. A portion is supplied by renewables, including 200 square metres of photovoltaic panels on the clubhouse roof, alongside a further 200 square metres of PVs referenced within the project’s wider energy provision. Sustainability is also expressed through material choices and construction methods, including an engineered timber structure using glulam and cross laminated timber, brickwork laid in lime mortar, and Siberian larch cladding selected for resilience and low embodied energy. Where concrete is necessary, high GGBS content is used to reduce embodied impact, and finishes are minimised through exposed concrete and blockwork. Resilience is addressed with unusual directness through landscape-led drainage and flood mitigation. Flood risk has been greatly reduced, helping protect neighbouring properties and keeping courts and pitches usable. The site is supported by an innovative sustainable drainage system and rainwater harvesting, and biodiversity is strengthened through habitat creation and green roof areas.

Merton Council’s local accessibility group was engaged during design development, alongside an elite wheelchair tennis player, and provisions include generous clear widths, power-assisted doors, dedicated wheelchair storage and Changing Places accommodation. The scheme responds directly to issues identified through consultation, including a lack of local facilities, flooding that previously made the site unusable, and inaccessible or dysfunctional amenities.