Public tennis courts which have fallen into poor condition are set to be resurfaced in a major upgrade.

The £56,000 project in Whitstable will see the West Beach facility served with a boost in a bid to attract more players to the game in the town.

Canterbury City Council and the LTA - the national governing body for tennis - is planning to install new nets and repaint the lines and replace surrounding fencing to upgrade the courts.

Work has started and will now take place in phases until May when the fencing is put in as the final stage of the scheme.

A new operator to deliver various activities at the courts will then be sought between the council and LTA.

These are likely to include weekly organised free “park tennis” sessions for all ages and abilities with equipment provided and anyone welcome regardless if they have a racket or a partner to play with.

Tennis leagues will also be able to provide friendly and social sessions through local competition.

The courts will be open to book for the general public via the LTA website.

City council cabinet member for open spaces Cllr Charlotte Cornell (Lab) said: “This cash boost for our local tennis courts at West Beach is great news for Whitstable. There’s a thriving tennis community in the town already, but we hope this big upgrade in the quality of the facilities will attract lots of new players to the game.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with the LTA on this project and tapping into all their resources and expertise.

“It’s really exciting and we can’t wait for the work to be completed and to see that first serve being hit in a few months’ time.”

Chief operating officer at the LTA Julie Porter said: “We are delighted to be working with Canterbury City Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active.

“This investment is part of the UK government and LTA’s Parks Tennis Project, and will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come.

“We will also be working closely with the council to ensure that the local community has a range of accessible opportunities to get on court, and open up our sport to many more people.”

The government and LTA Tennis Foundation is contributing £42,000 to the total cost with the council providing £14,000 using money from funding it has been allocated under the United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund, part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda.

The West Beach project is part of a nationwide investment by the government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts across the country and open up the sport to many more people.