At the 2025 AGM, we discussed changing the court surface on courts 4,5 & 6 and to canvas MLTC members' views. A survey will be launched for all members in January 2026.

Meanwhile, here follows background information to inform the survey.

To read in detail about the different types of court surfaces please see:

https://www.lta.org.uk/4ad170/siteassets/about-lta/file/court-surfaces-guidance.pdf

Now, MLTC currently have 3 different court surfaces:

• Courts 1,2 & 3:  Porous Asphalt (Macadam)
• Courts 4,5 & 6: Poroflex
• Courts 7,8, 9 & Mini-Zone : Artificial Clay

Courts 4,5, & 6: Poroflex

Poroflex - a high performance water permeable cushioned acrylic surface.  When they were originally laid in 2015 (Cost £54k), they were an excellent all weather surface - with excellent drainage and a soft cushioned feel.  However, as they have been repeatedly repainted their permeability has reduced and they have become less effective at draining rain water. The Poroflex courts were repainted in 2025 and probably have a few years of life remaining.

Some people say the ball tends to skid off these courts and they can be a bit slippery in wet weather.  

Courts 1,2 & 3: Tarmacadam

According to the LTA website, this surface typically  has an 8 to 10 year lifetime, depending on how well they have been maintained.  Our Tarmac courts were laid in 2015 (Cost £33k) with further resurfacing work in 2018. They are now 10 years old. In 2025  we re-sealed and re-painted our tarmac courts.  One of the drawbacks of repeated repainting & sealing is a loss of permeability - increasing their ability to retain water.  Eventually we will need to resurface our tarmac courts and may need to strip off the upper surface of tarmacadam and rebuild the various layers.  The LTA website suggests replacing a tarmac court from scratch would vary from £35k-£45k per court.

Courts 7,8 & 9 & Mini-Zone:  Artificial Red Clay 

These courts were laid in 2019 (Cost £76k) and are a very popular surface.  They provide good traction and can be used in all weathers, all year round. The surface provides a consistent bounce and also tends to be slower than the other surfaces, which is a positive for many - as it allows players time to play their shots. The artificial clay is popular at MLTC and needs regular maintenance.  Generally we buy about 1 tonne of clay per year and kindly volunteers add this clay to our courts.

Artificial Clay is the most expensive surface to lay and currently we estimate a total cost of converting courts 4,5 & 6 to clay to be in the range £120 - £140k. (includes VAT).  The LTA estimates the cost of building an artificial clay court from scratch varies from £50k-65k per court. 

For any comments on the above, please do send to Facilities@mltc.co.uk