St Ann’s Tennis CIC has received official notification from Nicola Hurley, Head of Planning and Director of Place at Brighton & Hove City Council, granting us planning permission for:

“the erection of 15no lighting columns with luminaires to provide floodlighting to 8no tennis courts and erection of 2no single storey storage buildings, in accordance with the application and plans submitted to the Council on 14 July 2025 and SUBJECT to compliance with any condition(s) specified.”

This decision was confirmed following the council planning meeting at Hove Town Hall on Thursday, 05 August. You can view coverage of the meeting via the links below:

Short speech by Conrad Brunner in favour of the application [2m 30s] (insert link)

Full coverage of the meeting [3h] (insert link). Our St Ann's Tennis CIC planning application begins at 28.03

So this planning application, first submitted 12months ago, has finally reached a successful conclusion. It has been a long and sometimes challenging process, and St Ann’s Tennis would like to express our sincere thanks to our architects (Pentangle), our lighting consultants (Highlights), our many supportive tennis friends across the city (including many of our Parks League ‘rivals’), and — most importantly — the dozens of members who so eloquently expressed their support through online messages and in person. Here are a couple of comments in support of our application:

*“I live right by the courts and use them regularly. The courts have created such a nice community and lighting would help this to continue and develop throughout the winter when many people can only play after 4pm. This could also help the park to feel safer and reduced anti social behaviour in the winter months. The lighting has been well considered to have limited impact on neighbours and wildlife and would not be on too late anyway. People of all ages would benefit from this and would help tennis to be more accessible and park based, rather than tennis only thriving in private clubs.”*

*“I fully support this application. I live on Nizells Avenue which is the road next to the park and have two children that use the tennis courts every week. Having floodlights will allow them to play tennis before and after school in the winter months which is currently not possible. I have looked at the type of lighting being proposed and given it is a modern, purpose built system, I am confident that it will cause no issues for the surrounding homes including my own. The other benefit of having lighting on in the park during dark hours is that it will reduce anti-social behaviour and drinking which can often take place when the park is in the dark. In summary this is an excellent idea and great for the local community.”*

Following the decision in early August, I have had cordial and respectful discussions with local residents who opposed the initiative. It is important for us to maintain a dialogue, and it is now on us to ensure this project is delivered with minimal disruption and the utmost respect for our neighbours.

We firmly believe the real-world impact of court lighting will be far less intrusive than some might fear. The lights will not be on for excessively long hours — hardly at all in summer — and will be off by 9pm. Winter weather often means losing an entire month or two of play regardless. Furthermore, the directional focus of modern LED lighting is remarkable, resulting in minimal light spill beyond the court perimeters. The vast majority of our members arrive by foot or bicycle, so we do not anticipate much extra traffic.

What Comes Next: Information for Members

Operating Hours & System
The terms of our planning permission allow us to operate the lights until 9:00 PM. The system is fully automated through the ClubSpark booking software: lights will switch on only when a court is booked and turn off automatically at the end of the session.

Technical Approvals & Timeline
Before installation begins, we must submit detailed technical specs to the council to satisfy specific planning conditions. While we do not anticipate issues, these plans require formal sign-off. We will draw on the experience of local clubs like Dyke and Queen’s Park to ensure this stage goes smoothly.

While we haven’t fixed an exact start date, we are targeting implementation this winter. Our primary focus will be court lighting with our partners, Highlights, followed by the storage units.

Court Availability During Work
Installation is expected to take around one month. We plan to keep as much court capacity open as possible throughout the build. For example, contractors will likely work on Courts 1–4 first while Courts 5–8 remain open, then swap over, maintaining at least half-capacity for members and visitors.

Quality Assurance
Highlights previously installed the lighting system at Queen’s Park Tennis Club, completing the work to the highest professional standard. We are confident you will be delighted with the quality of the new setup once operational.

Fees & Group Sessions
There will be a charge for using the lights for both members and visitors. Bookings and payments will be managed seamlessly via the Booker app, which is already configured for lighting usage. A full pricing schedule will be published in due course.

Revenue from individual bookings will be essential to cover running costs and future maintenance. We also plan to introduce structured evening group sessions — such as Friday Night Tennis — catering to players of all standards.

Neighbourhood Respect & Noise
Tennis is fortunately a quiet sport, but we will remind all players to leave the courts quietly after dark out of respect for local residents. This will be a strict condition of court use. While noise has never been an issue with our members, we must remain vigilant together to maintain our excellent relationship with the surrounding community.

New Perimeter Hedging
Subject to council approval, we have committed to replanting a new hedge along the full length of the courts on Nizells Avenue. While a hedge takes time to mature, we believe this will be hugely beneficial for the club, local residents, and the local ecosystem—and it will look fantastic. We have already received quotes from professional contractors to undertake this work.

Sponsorship Opportunities
Once the lights are operational, we plan to install windbreakers at various positions around the perimeter. These banners offer prime branding opportunities for local businesses. St Ann’s Tennis boasts a large, active membership and a broad community reach. If your business is interested in sponsoring a banner or supporting our official launch event, please get in touch!

Overall, this marks an important and exciting new chapter for St Ann’s Tennis. Thank you all once again for your continued backing and patience throughout this journey.

• St Ann’s Tennis