Seaford Town Council (hereafter ‘The Council’) is working in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to:

1) Encourage local residents to either take up or play more tennis.

2) Improve local tennis facilities for residents.

3) Make sure local tennis courts are sustainable in the years to come.

• An important aspect of the partnership is to have an effective programme of activity to engage new players and help people learn how to play the game.
• As there is no current coaching programme in place, the Council are advertising herein for a tennis partner to manage the new tennis courts, and deliver a high quality, sustainable and inclusive tennis coaching programme at The Salts Recreation Ground.
• The initial contract is anticipated to be for at least 3 years and up to 15 years, subject to negotiation, starting on 01/04/2023, and with a break clause for both parties immediately at the end of year 1 (this being the end of the financial year 2023/24 on March 31st 2024). A review will be held prior to the year 1 end, at around month 10.
• The Council is inviting applicants to demonstrate how they will work in line with LTA events, develop community sporting initiatives, promote accessible coaching, and event opportunities, and work with the community to either take up or play more tennis.
• The Council is committed to increasing community and inclusive tennis (most notably with increased participation) on the improved courts. A successful and diverse coaching programme is seen as a key driver to help the Council meet its objectives.
  
  Expectations
• Focus of operation and coaching programme.
• To develop, deliver and promote an effective, inspiring, and sustainable community tennis development programme for people of all ages and abilities (adults, juniors, minis).
• Provide attractive opportunities for casual and recreational players who perceive joining a club to be too formal for their needs to access the sport.
  
  
• Support LTA initiatives where appropriate, specifically Great British Tennis Weekend and other national products and/or campaigns.
• Provide periodic attendance statistics data to the LTA and the Council.
• Consideration should be given as to how coaches will engage new players into tennis, particularly those classed as 'inactive' by the UK Chief Medical Officer's definition
• Provision for players with disabilities and/or impairments must feature in programme (e.g. Wheelchair Tennis).
• Maximise the potential capacity of Seaford Tennis Courts ClubSpark Booking System
  To be responsible for LTA Venue Registration, and ClubSpark.
• The Operator shall set up and use their own digital payment platform within ClubSpark.

Marketing

• To advertise under own company banner (rather than the Council's), liaising with the
  Council’s Project and Facilities Team before publishing any marketing or promotional
  material.
• Safeguarding & Welfare
• To have a Welfare Officer who has undergone the necessary training as per the LTA
  requirements, fulfils the duties of the role and meets the Safeguarding Venue Standards.
  
  

Policies

• To have a Safeguarding policy (which includes whistleblowing), and policy statement.
• To have a Diversity and Inclusion policy.

Health & Safety

• To carry out risk assessments for the Facilities.
• Ensure that any near-miss or accident is reported to the Council.
• Include health and safety training in the new staff induction programme and maintain a record of all health and safety training undertaken by staff.
• Ensure that an emergency contact number is clearly displayed on the site.
  
  

Rental

• The successful tennis operator would be charged an annual rental fee for exclusive rights to operate their coaching business at The Salts Recreation Ground. The tennis operator would be entitled to keep all income from any coaching, membership, and court bookings.
• The minimum proposed annual rental fee is £13,500 pa and will be subject to a yearly inflation increase of 3%. This is to cover expenditure, and the sink fund (which will go into the ongoing maintenance and the eventual replacement of the tennis courts).
  
  The annual rental fee will exclude:
• Electricity for floodlights, which will be recharged to the Lease holder quarterly throughout the year.
• From Year 2 the yearly LTA Venue Registration (currently £180 per year).
• All figures are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the standard rate at the time.
  It is proposed that the fees would be paid quarterly in advance.
• An annual review will take place towards the end of each year to discuss the suitability and success of the coaching programme.
• Court bookings and membership fees are laid out in Appendix B.
  
  

Coaching

• The successful tennis operator will be entitled to use around 30 court hours per week for coaching, whilst ensuring that a reasonable amount of court time remains available for casual tennis bookings. Subletting of court time will not be permitted.
• A maximum of two courts can be used at any one time for coaching to ensure at least one court remains available for casual bookings (although the Council may offer some flexibility to these arrangements during quiet periods).

Additional benefits for the successful tennis operator:

• Endorsement from Seaford Town Council’s Project and Facilities team that the supplier is the Council’s sole tennis operator.
• The Agreement will allow for the operator to have sole coaching rights at the site.

Supplementary Information

• The Council is flexible in regard to whether the successful preferred tennis operator is a sole person or group of coaches. In all cases, the head coach will be expected to hold an LTA Level 3 coaching qualification or above, all coaches delivering coaching should be accredited with the LTA and will require a DBS check in line with the Council’s Safeguarding Policy.

Tennis

• The tennis operator will not be expected to deliver any court maintenance (this will be delivered by the Council's grounds maintenance contractors) other than assisting in keeping the courts clean and tidy.
• The tennis operator will be expected to participate in national engagement campaigns such as Great British Tennis Weekend (GBTW) and the Tennis for Free programme.
  For any reason, should the contract start date be later than 01.04.2023 the first year’s rental will be pro-rata.

• Seaford serves a population of around 27,000 and a further 67,000 within the Lewes District.
  It is well known for its convenient parking, easy to access town centre, countryside, beach front and arguably the most memorable coastal views to be found in the region.
  
  
• Seaford is a favoured alternative for visitors seeking an uncomplicated seaside and coastal countryside destination. The town is situated in a beautiful location presiding over the wide sweep of Seaford Bay under the distinctive chalk landmark of Seaford Head. Seaford beach is just a short walk from the train station with a fun and vibrant yet relaxed feel.
  
  
• To the north, the town faces the chalk downland of the South Downs National Park; and along the coast to the east are the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs.
  
  
• Seaford Town Council is developing regeneration projects for Seaford in order to support a vibrant and active town with lots to do and plenty to see and enjoy. A recent success at The Salts Recreation Ground being the new skate park. There was a fantastic turn out for the ‘Skate Jam’ grand opening event, which took place during the school summer holidays, and it is now amazing to see so many people utilising this new addition.
  
  Tennis Courts at The Salts Recreation Ground
• The three newly built state-of-the-art tennis courts were officially opened in May 2022.
• Following successful introduction in other parts of the country, the new courts, part funded by Lewes District Council, Sport England, and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) the governing body of tennis in Great Britain, benefit from automated court floodlighting and gate access technology, which work in conjunction with ClubSpark, an award-winning online sport management system, ensuring an easy-to-use process for booking the courts.
• The floodlights integrate, where scheduled, with court bookings during the courts’ hours of operation (between the hours of 07:00am and 09:00pm).
  
  
• The courts are available to book 24/7, and are open and available for play all year round.
  
  Location
• The Recreation Ground is in an optimum location, sited between the seafront with extensive all year-round free parking, Seaford train station and the A259 (the main access route through Seaford from Newhaven to Eastbourne). It also benefits from several footpaths and the area experiences a significant footfall both in and out of season, popular with walkers, families, and sports enthusiasts.
• The courts benefit from the immediate proximity of public toilets as well as The Salts Café, which is open to the public all year round, a play park, several sports clubs, and a skate park, which has been recently installed; all of which are extremely popular in the area, seeing people travel from other towns to enjoy what is on offer.
• With a favourable seafront location there is scope for the right applicant to establish a loyal customer base.
• Seaford does benefit from a private membership tennis club which has nine floodlit tennis courts; however, these are for members use only. Although their yearly fees are assumed the going rate for a club of their standard, they do result in reduced accessibility for people on reduced incomes.

• The successful tennis operator will have:
• A programme delivered/overseen by a LTA accredited coach, qualified at a minimum of level 3.
• Current LTA accreditation.
• Experience in providing community-focused tennis activities and an understanding of
  how to address barriers to participation.
• Recently attended or be willing to attend training on coaching people with disabilities and/or impairments.
• Observation of LTA minimum standard in coach and other staff qualifications/training,
  safeguarding (including DBS checks) and equality of opportunity.
• The ability to provide the Council with an ongoing risk assessment covering activities
  Relevant insurances in place to cover all activities undertaken on the site, coaching events, and other areas that arise.
• To work together with the Council’s Projects and Facilities team, sharing knowledge, developing systems, and delivering an attractive, value for money service to users
  To show how they plan to manage the site providing general public and community
  (club) use, court booking and coaching options and working with the community.
• To ensure that an emergency contact number is clearly displayed at the courts. The emergency contact number must be staffed during all hours of operation in order to
  deal with any accidents / incidents on site.
• To maintain full, accurate and up-to-date records of the financial and operational
  performance of the courts.
• A GDPR policy and method statement about managing player data.
• Competent IT skills (MS Office/internet).
• A current DBS check.