Last updated October 2026
Norfolk court projects fall into two groups: building a new tennis court and bringing a tired one back. For an existing court, the LTA’s resurfacing averages run from £12,500 (artificial grass) to £17,500 (acrylic clay) a court; for new courts, its figure for a set of four is £150,000 to £200,000, and it does not say whether VAT is in either figure. A homeowner’s single garden court sits well under that, and the survey prices it to your plot. Start with our tennis court construction page or send photos.
What did Norwich spend on its park courts, and what did it get?
£423,138 for five new floodlit hard courts and a wider upgrade. Three courts went in at Heigham Park, replacing grass courts that had been closed since 2017, and two at Lakenham Recreation Ground. Eaton Park, Waterloo Park and Harford Park are part of the same Norwich Parks Tennis scheme. For a parish or town council weighing its own courts, that is a useful real-world yardstick for a multi-court programme with lighting.
Can community infrastructure levy pay for tennis courts here?
It has done in Norwich. The Greater Norwich Growth Board put £103,453 of levy funding into those park courts, about a quarter of the budget. Separately, a parish council keeps 15% of the levy raised from development in its area, or 25% where it has a neighbourhood plan, and can spend it on community facilities. A parish in Broadland or South Norfolk planning a court should check its levy balance before applying for grants.
Do the new courts need a booking gate?
It is worth planning one in from the start. All the Norwich courts were fitted with automatic entry, so players book online or by phone and either pay an annual household fee or pay and play. In the first month at Heigham Park, each court was used for 188 hours. For a council or club, the gate decides whether the court can earn an income towards its own upkeep, so we price the gate, power supply and fencing together.
Who handles planning for a court near the Broads?
The Broads Authority does, for anything inside its area. Elsewhere it is your district council: Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich or South Norfolk. Norfolk is not in any of England’s 16 Green Belt areas, so the openness test does not apply, but floodlights in a quiet village or near the Broads will still be judged on light spill and the view. Our planning guide lists what to include.
Resurface, overlay or rebuild?
Let the base decide. If the macadam is sound and drains, a new acrylic colour coat or an artificial grass carpet is the cheaper path. A Derbyshire parish’s 2024 estimate put a porous macadam resurface with acrylic paint at £17,000 to £20,000, rising to £37,000 to £47,000 with a cushioned overlay, which shows how much the specification moves the price. If the base has failed, rebuilding is usually better value over the court’s life. See tennis court resurfacing.
Sources
- Greater Norwich Growth Board, Norwich Parks Tennis, read Oct 2026
- Broads Authority, planning, read Oct 2026
- MHCLG, local authority Green Belt statistics 2024 to 2025, Oct 2025
- North Yorkshire Council, CIL and parish councils, read Oct 2026
- LTA, how much it costs to build or renovate a tennis court, read Oct 2026
- Great Longstone Parish Council, tennis court resurfacing proposal, Nov 2024
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.
Could a village court be a multi-sport court instead?
Yes, if netball or five-a-side would get it used more. The same base can carry several sets of lines, and a ball-court fence keeps play in. Our MUGA page covers sizes and fencing, and every price band is on the costs page .
We want a court in our garden. What do you need from us?
A site plan or a sketch with the boundaries, photos of the lawn from each corner, and the width of the widest gate or gap a digger could use. Tell us how close the nearest neighbours are and whether you want lights, because those two points decide how a district council or the Broads Authority will view it. The survey then confirms whether a full-size court and its run-back fit, or whether a shorter court suits the plot better.
Who runs a Norfolk court job?
We arrange a vetted local surfacing contractor to carry out Norfolk work, confirm who within 2 working days, or tell you plainly if we can’t. Alex Winser stays your single contact from the first call to handover, and the written quote names who does the work before anything is booked.