Last updated October 2026
Most Leicester and Leicestershire enquiries are from primary schools wanting new or refreshed playground markings, and from schools and parishes planning a MUGA. Markings are priced from the design and the yard’s condition after a survey; for comparison, relining a sports court has been quoted at £600 per sport, and a new fenced, floodlit macadam MUGA is benchmarked by Sport England at £190,000, both excluding VAT. Send a photo of the yard and a sketch of what you want, and the team books a visit.
Can a Leicester school use its PE and sport premium for markings?
A repaint usually can; a brand new layout might not. The gov.uk guidance gives repainting playground lines as an example of revenue spending the premium can fund, while capital work such as a MUGA or an active mile track is ruled out, and the Department for Education will not rule on individual cases. A Leicester primary can therefore refresh faded hopscotch and running tracks from this year’s premium, but should treat a full new design, or a MUGA, as a capital project. Our funding guide sets out the other routes.
What would a full set of markings cost?
It depends on the designs and the state of the tarmac, so we price it after a survey. To help budget: supply-only thermoplastic kits run from about £131 for a simple hopscotch to £939 for a snakes and ladders board, before VAT, and installation, surface preparation and any tarmac repair are added on top. The playground markings page explains thermoplastic against paint.
| Leicestershire job | Typical price, ex VAT | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Single marking kit, supply only | about £131 to £939 | Supplier list, 2026 |
| Relining a games court, per sport | £600 | Contractor quote to a parish, 2025 |
| New fenced, lit MUGA, 782 m2 | £190,000 | Sport England, Q4 2025 |
Will pupils be able to use the city’s park courts?
In Leicester, yes, which changes what a school needs to build. The city council’s £420,000 programme in 2024, with the Government and the LTA Tennis Foundation, renewed 28 park courts across seven parks, including Evington, Knighton and Abbey Park, with new asphalt, nets and entrance gates. By June 2026 they had taken over 25,000 bookings, and the LTA Tennis Foundation’s schools programme now brings classes to them. A city primary near a renewed park may get more value from markings and a MUGA on its own yard than from building tennis courts.
Can a district council court be fully grant funded?
Sometimes. Harborough District Council accepted £81,717.44 from the LTA’s Park Tennis Project in July 2025 to resurface the Welland Park courts in Market Harborough and fit gate access, with no cost to the council. Parish and district courts in the county should check that route first; private club and school courts come to us for a quote, and tennis court construction covers new builds.
Which council handles planning for a MUGA?
Leicester City Council inside the city; outside it, the district, such as Oadby and Wigston, Blaby, Charnwood or Harborough. A school in Oadby is not a city council case. Fencing and floodlights are where consent questions arise, so send the address with the enquiry and see our MUGA page for sizes and fencing.
Sources
- DfE, PE and sport premium guidance for primary schools, Sept 2026
- Leicester City Council, park tennis courts reopen, June 2024
- Leicester City Council, schools at the refurbished courts, June 2026
- Harborough District Council, Welland Park tennis courts, July 2025
- Football Foundation, Leicester Local Football Facility Plan, Mar 2025
- StartSafety, four-way hopscotch marking, Oct 2026
- Wickham Parish Council, MUGA resurfacing and relining quotes, Feb 2025
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.
Does Leicester need another full-size 3G pitch?
Barely, on current demand. The city’s 2025 Local Football Facility Plan finds a shortfall of 0.75 of a full-size 3G pitch once the Tudor Grange Samworth Academy pitch is counted, and names a new floodlit pitch at Hamilton Park as the project to close it. It also allows for three more full-size pitches if 126 more teams form by 2030, with no sites chosen yet. A school or club proposing one should be ready to show how it fits that growth; our artificial pitches page covers the build.
Can a MUGA go on an old estate yard in Braunstone or Beaumont Leys?
Often, where the tarmac is sound and drains. Reusing it avoids excavation, and the survey checks levels and cracks before that is promised. If the court will be hired out to local clubs, add the gate and booking set-up to the same quote.
Who does the work?
We arrange a vetted local surfacing contractor for Leicestershire jobs. We confirm who within 2 working days, or tell you if we can’t. You deal with Alex Winser throughout, and nothing is booked until you have the written quote and know who is doing the work.