Tender for Trumper Park Tennis Centre -let Woollahra Council know your views

Dear supporter 

I am posting this update to inform you that Woollahra  Council has now advertised the request for tenders for a new 7 plus 7 year lease of Trumper Park Tennis Centre.  Following our campaign last year, the tender only allows tennis at the Centre. You can find a reference to the tender on the Council website here:

Procurement | Woollahra Municipal Council

The closing date of the tender is 13 March 2025. The tender submissions received will then be evaluated by the Council staff against the criteria set by the Council and the staff will provide a report to the Councillors stating the tenderer ranked highest by the staff. The Council's Finance, Community and Services Committee will consider the report at a meeting that will be open to the public; at this stage I do not know when this meeting will take place but it could be as early as April. 

I anticipate that multiple parties will submit tenders for the lease, including the current lessee (the Day family) that has successfully run the tennis centre for the last 10 Years, providing school holiday tennis camps, coaching for all ages, play for local schools, organised and casual recreational play and staffing the kiosk 7 days a week. 

Tenders could also be submitted by large companies running many other tennis centres with business plans that could change the current method of operation  , for example by reducing the times staff are present at the courts, only offering on-line booking, and installing key code locks on courts for access.

I intend to write to the Woollahra Council and the  Councillors to ask they only consider selecting a tenderer that will maintain Trumper Park as a local community tennis facility with experienced staff manning the Centre at all times. It is essential in my view that there is an experienced person present 7am to 7 pm each day the Centre is open for the security of customers , to ensure activities at the courts do not disturb nearby residents and to protect this valuable community facility. 

If you also believe that the Trumper Park Tennis Centre should continue its current method of operation, please take the time to contact Woollahra Council and its Councillors to express your views. 

Sincerely

Tim Hirshman