Last updated October 2026
Hampshire play areas and tennis courts come under three kinds of planning authority: the two city councils, the districts and the South Downs National Park. Wetpour safety surfacing typically costs about £40 to £140 per m2 excluding VAT, set by depth, colour and the state of the base; a pair of new fenced, lit club courts is benchmarked by Sport England at £260,000. The three things that change a Hampshire job most are which council you are in, whether the site is in a national park or Green Belt, and the base. All bands are on our costs page .
Which council decides a court or play area here?
That depends on the address. Southampton and Portsmouth have their own unitary councils; elsewhere it is the district or borough. In East Hampshire there are two planning authorities: the district council covers a third of the area, and the South Downs National Park Authority covers the rest. A floodlit court in a South Downs village therefore goes to the park authority, with its own list of what to submit. For a like-for-like play area resurface, ask the council to confirm in writing whether consent is needed.
Is our site in the South West Hampshire Green Belt?
Check your council’s policies map before designing anything. The government’s statistics record a South West Hampshire Green Belt of 35,090 hectares at March 2025. National policy (NPPF paragraph 154b) accepts outdoor sport facilities in Green Belt if they preserve its openness, so new fencing, lighting columns and buildings need the most justification. Our planning guide shows what to send.
What did Portsmouth’s new football hub cost?
About £8.1 million. The King George V Football Complex at Cosham opened in October 2024 with two 3G pitches, six grass pitches and a pavilion, funded by a £4.4 million Football Foundation grant and £3.7 million from Portsmouth City Council, which itself drew on the Levelling Up Fund and the Youth Investment Fund. For a club or school planning a smaller pitch, it shows the Foundation expects serious local match funding. See artificial pitches.
How are Hampshire park tennis courts being run now?
Havant shows the pattern. After LTA and government investment, its park courts were resurfaced and recoloured with new nets and posts, and electronic gates with online booking were installed, with court income going into a long-term maintenance sinking fund. If your parish or club is planning courts, a gate and booking system is worth pricing alongside the surface. Our tennis courts page covers the build.
Can our school’s play area be overlaid instead of dug out?
Often, if the existing tarmac is sound and draining. Wetpour laid on top avoids excavation and spoil removal and shortens the closure; worn spots under swings and slides can be cut out and relaid. The survey decides. In a Southampton flat block where play space sits on a podium deck, the deck build-up and drainage outlets are checked before any depth is set. See wetpour.
Sources
- East Hampshire District Council, planning application process, read Oct 2026
- MHCLG, local authority Green Belt statistics 2024 to 2025, Oct 2025
- NPPF, protecting Green Belt land (paragraph 154), read Oct 2026
- Football Foundation, Portsmouth community sport hub opens, Oct 2024
- Havant Borough Council, tennis in Havant, read Oct 2026
- Redlynch Leisure, wet pour prices, Sept 2026
- Sport England, Facility Cost Guidance Q4 2025, published Feb 2026
How it works
- 01Send a plan and photosThe site, the surface and the date it must reopen.
- 02We check the groundLevels and where the water drains.
- 03Written quoteBuilt around your reopening date.
What depth does our play area need?
The depth is set by the fall height of your tallest equipment, and the surface must be tested to BS EN 1177 at that depth. Our critical fall height guide explains the table. Deeper surfacing costs more per m2, which is why the national band is wide.
Could a games court go in at the same time?
Yes. A MUGA on part of an old hard court often reuses the base, which keeps the cost well under Sport England’s £190,000 benchmark for a full-size fenced, lit court. Bear in mind that Sport England’s figures leave out VAT, poor ground, difficult access and regional cost variations, so a scheme on a tight Portsmouth street or a remote rural field may land above or below them; the survey gives your figure. See our MUGA page.
Who runs a Hampshire job?
We arrange a vetted local surfacing contractor to carry out Hampshire work, confirm who within 2 working days, or tell you plainly if we can’t. Alex Winser keeps the job moving as your one point of contact, and you see the contractor’s name on the written quote before you agree to anything.