Developer says the courts are financially unviable and wants to build nine homes on them instead, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Google Earth view of the disused tennis courts and (inset) the plans to redevelop them — Google Earth view of the disused tennis courts and (inset) the plans by ADAM Architecture to redevelop them

Residents are battling to save tennis courts on a historic Muswell Hill estate from a proposed housing development.

Developer Rok Enterprises wants to build nine homes on the now-disused The Grove Lawn Tennis Club in Rookfield Estate, an early 20th Century garden village built in the Arts and Crafts style and protected by a conservation area.

It claims the scheme, which would involve converting the former clubhouse into a home and building eight more houses on the courts, would combine “the highest standards of modern living with the traditional architecture of the Rookfield Estate”.

But a public consultation on the plans has sparked more than 280 objections, including claims the scheme would harm the estate’s heritage and result in the loss of a facility that should be restored and preserved for community use.

The Rookfield Estate Conservation Advisory Committee’s objection states that the tennis courts had “a long history as a well-used community facility”.

It adds that residents were “not only intentionally gifted access to green spaces and nature but were also given a permanent community outdoor leisure facility in The Grove Lawn Tennis Club”.

It continues: “The clubhouse provided a hub for the community and it hosted meetings, teas, celebration events and a creche.

“Building houses on this land would result in a permanent loss of a significant community facility which would be felt keenly by the Rookfield Garden Village community.”

Opponents of the scheme say the tennis courts fell into disuse after they were locked by a previous owner more than a decade ago, blocking public access, and then allowed to deteriorate. They want the courts to be refurbished or converted into another community use.

Critics of the proposed development have also claimed it would be detrimental to the heritage of Rookfield Conservation Area and to the design and quality of the estate, while there are also concerns over a potential loss of wildlife habitats.

Cathy Brennan, a Muswell Hill ward councillor, said: “The tennis courts are a public asset, and it is shameful that the residents have been padlocked out of this space for well over a decade.

“Furthermore the clubhouse is built within the gardens of two residents. It would be very inappropriate to have a permanent residence at the bottom of these small gardens. It would be against the intention of the original founders to build on this communal land.

“The land has been neglected, against the wishes of residents, who wish to use these facilities for the health and wellbeing of the community, young and old.

“I hope that all Muswell Hill and surrounding area residents will come together to fight to preserve this area and for residents to be allowed to take advantage of this communal asset.”

The developer’s representative, The Community Communications Partnership, says the courts were always privately owned and there is “no financially viable alternative to run these facilities despite various marketing attempts”. It claims the cost of restoring the courts sits at around £350,000, with upkeep, insurance and other costs amounting to over £13,000 per month.

The plans state that the scheme has been designed to retain all trees on site, add seven new trees and create lawns and green space that would boost biodiversity. The clubhouse would be converted into an affordable, shared ownership bungalow, with the remaining homes for private sale.

Henry Lamprecht, managing director at the Community Communications Partnership, said a “very wide” consultation had been carried out on the proposals, and requests to meet with a residents’ association had been refused.

He added: “We have commissioned award-winning ADAM Architecture who went back to the original designs of the estate and ensured that the historically sensitive designs incorporate all the elements of the original estate. These homes will seamlessly fit in and in a few years when they have weathered no-one would even know they are modern.

“The courts and the surrounding roads [Cascade Avenue and The Chine] are privately owned and we will be resurfacing them and then transfer ownership to the local residents.

“We would like to thank all the residents and councillors who did contribute their views that has resulted in a on-site affordable unit being offered, historically informed designs and considerable planting of trees and shrubs in the proposed gardens.”

The plans can be viewed by visiting the council’s planning portal and entering reference: HGY/2023/0733

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