Anyone for tennis? Tennis coach wanted for The Salts

With a view to successfully increasing community tennis, the Town Council is looking to engage a tennis coach to build a successful and thriving community tennis facility, affordable for families and inclusive for all, in line with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) requirements.

The three full-sized, state-of-the-art, tennis courts opened in May 2022 and benefit from automated floodlights and gate access, which work in conjunction with ClubSpark, an award-winning online sport management system, ensuring an easy-to-use process for booking the courts. Toilets are within immediate proximity, as well as free car parking and a café.

The Salts Tennis Courts have been made possible thanks to funding from Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds from Lewes District Council, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), Sport England, and Seaford Town Council.

The Tennis Operator Partnership is being offered initially as a one-year arrangement, with a review at ten months of the one-year contract, which for the right applicant there may be an opportunity for a concession of up to five years thereafter.

Under the lease model contract, the successful Tennis Operating Partner will be charged an annual rental fee to operate the courts and programme for a coaching business, and to provide community tennis, which will include family membership and pay and play sessions, within The Salts Recreation Ground. The Tennis Operating Partner will manage the ClubSpark booking system and ensure a full business model for both tennis coaching and community tennis is in place, along with any court maintenance. Seaford Town Council will retain responsibility for the facilities on site – the inspection, maintenance and/or renewal of - but will work closely with the Partner in doing so.

To ensure a good balance is achieved between the coaching provision and courts being available for general use by the public, the Tennis Operating Partner will be entitled to use up to a maximum of 30 court hours per week, with a maximum of two of the three courts being used at any one time. All income received from the coaching sessions, membership and court bookings will be kept by the Tennis Operating Partner.

An important aspect of either model will be to develop and deliver an effective, inspiring and sustainable community tennis coaching programme for people of all ages and abilities (adults, juniors, minors), to encourage local residents to play more tennis, engage new players and help people learn how to play the game.

The Tennis Operating Partner will be LTA accredited, hold an LTA Level 3 coaching qualification or above and have experience in providing community-focused tennis activities. The successful candidate will also require a DBS check in line with the Town Council’s Safeguarding Policy - Tennis.

The full tender pack and details required to submit a tender application can be found on the Town Council’s website at https://www.seafordtowncouncil.gov.uk/contracts-and-tenders

Tender applications are to be emailed to [email protected] using the subject ‘Tennis Operating Partner’ detailing the information set out in the full tender pack, or posted to ‘Tennis Operating Partner’ Seaford Town Clerk, Seaford Town Council, 37 Church Street, Seaford, East Sussex, BN25 1HG, by 5pm Wednesday 27th March 2024.