Save New Mills squash court
New Mills squash court is at risk
You can tell HPBC what you think of their plans now!
Despite a year of campaigning and a 1400 strong petition, the council are proposing that New Mills’ only squash court be removed. They are running a public consultation with three options on the table. Only one option saves the squash court.
Is there hope?
Yes. We must speak up if we want to save the court. The only way to do this is to engage in the consultation.
You can also join our mailing list and we’ll keep you in the loop.
Why save the squash court?
The squash court is a well-used and well-loved facility at the heart of the town bringing significant health, wellbeing and social connections to its users. In fact, the community themselves fundraised for it to be built, and it’s been there since 1980, see our history page for more information. All residents can book it out in their spare time to get fit, have fun and improve their squash skills. Importantly it’s a venue that has value to people of all ages and brings generations together for a shared activity.
Each week the court hosts six junior sessions and a significant number of ad-hoc users.
It also hosts a weekly ladies night which has started playing friendlies with other clubs.
New Mills has had a team in this squash league for the past 40 years, attracting visitors from rival teams who get to know the town and bring revenue to local businesses.
Additionally:
Squash has recently become an Olympic sport – this is expected to inspire hundreds of new court users locally. Without a court, New Mills will miss out on this golden opportunity to get people exercising.
Currently anyone wanting to take up squash in New Mills can do so without needing a car or money for private membership clubs. Removing the court makes squash financially and logistically inaccessible to many people.
Originally New Mills had two squash courts, one has already been lost to a gym extension. Ripping out yet another purpose-built, tailor-made facility would be a thoughtless act of destruction that can easily be avoided.
“Access to sport to all is vital for physical and mental health. The impact of taking access to sport from children WILL echo through our community for decades”.
– Gemma Sidebottom, Save our squash court petition signee and New Mills resident
How is the council justifying this?
The council says that the court is only used 40% of the time, that thirty juniors is a “small number” and that it could potentially “be better utilised to engage a larger number of people”.
We obviously don’t agree! The court may be used for 40% of the time however –
- People work during the day – many leisure centre facilities are underused during off peak hours – is 40% actually low?
- 40% equates to people participating in around 126 sessions of squash per week1 – that’s not insignificant
- 30 juniors is not a “small number”. The junior programme has only just started and has a huge potential to grow. To those children, squash is an extremely important part of their life.
- There is room to further improve this figure and diversify usage of the court.
The stats do not support killing this sport in New Mills. There are ways to make a squash court profitable – but it requires a willingness to make an effort, and to value the importance it plays to the community.
Maximising squash court usage
If the squash court really is underused, can’t this be addressed? Definitely! What’s more, we believe the council should dedicate part of their leisure centre budget towards this.
According to Squash England “a well-operated squash court should be making somewhere between £15,000 and £19,000 per annum. These figures are based on high peak usage and off-peak usage that includes a range of programmes and campaigns, coupled with use for alternative activity provision in off-peak hours.”
Through simple investments and actions we can ensure the squash court earns its keep:
- Customisation: With a few simple modifications to improve acoustics and insulation, the room becomes better suited to a wider range of potential uses.
- Better advertising: Through better advertising and council-backing the squash court could attract more users.
Interactive squash wall: Squash courts with an interactive wall attract a higher average usage rate than normal squash courts. It would open up possibilities for soft play, children’s parties, home-school activities and is a fun and attractive proposition for new and existing squash players.
Multipurpose usage: The space can be used for a variety of purposes other than squash during off peak hours, from pilates, yoga, training sessions, table tennis and more.
If you want to join the campaign to save our squash court then the best thing you can do is to take part in the consultation.
You can also join our mailing list
Save New Mills Leisure Centre Facilities
Join the campaign to prevent High Peak Borough Council from destroying our squash court and shrinking our sports hall.
- Based on the council’s estimate that the court is used 33 out of 80 available hours each week (i.e. 40% of the time). That equates to 48 out of 120 forty minute sessions being used in total. At least 2 people per session = 96. Add a conservative 30 extra to account for the various group sessions that take place, and the figure you arrive at is 126 sessions of squash. Some people use the court several times a week – it is not possible to account for unique users based on the 33/80 hour stat alone. ↩︎