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A Rhymney resident has criticised tennis court upgrades which were due to be completed in July but are still unfinished – leaving the sports facilities unusable. 

The courts in Rhymney, which are located on the Terrace, are one of six tennis venues that will be renovated across Caerphilly County Borough.

The UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation have provided £377,828.22 towards the upgrades while Caerphilly County Borough Council has invested £135,829.11.

Work began in May as planned, and a spokesperson for Caerphilly County Borough Council previously told Caerphilly Observer in April 2023 “we are hopeful that all upgraded facilities as listed will be completed and in use by [the] start of July 2023”. 

In a statement released on July 28, the council said all six courts would be complete by late July.

However, Rhymney resident Alison Jones, who lives opposite the courts told Caerphilly Observer in mid-July that work had started on the courts – but had stopped, leaving the facilities possibly worse than before. 

“I saw them coming the other day, digging them up,” said Alison, “this was about six weeks before Wimbledon,” meaning by her calculations this was sometime in May. 

Alison added that she had seen the nets and posts taken down. “The whole tennis season,” said Alison, “it’s been unusable.”

A council spokesman said: “There is currently excessive weed growth at the site, which would damage the new surface if not removed. We have arranged for a contractor to undertake this work and we are awaiting a start date. 

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused as we await these key improvements.”

The upgraded works package in Rhymney includes court re-surfacing to all three courts, anti-slip court and line painting (green courts/blue surrounds/white lines as per photo), new posts and nets for all courts, fencing repairs and installation of an e-gate entrance system which will allow users to book the courts via an app.