Urgent request: Statements for Bristol City Council

Dear member,

As you will be aware the City Council are considering no longer continuing with the longstanding arrangement by which GSTC maintains and manages the courts in GS park. If they decide to make this change it would effectively spell the end of the club. Obviously we are doing everything in our power to demonstrate to the council that the existing arrangement should continue.

There is a Full Council meeting taking place on the 8th September and members of the public are able to submit statements for councilors to consider. It would be helpful to our cause if as many people as possible submit statements in order to raise awareness with councillors and demonstrate the strength of feeling about the issue. If you wish to, please can we ask that you submit a statement using the electronic form below. The deadline for doing so is 12 noon, Friday 4th September.

https://digital.bristol.gov.uk/council/how-council-decisions-are-made/submit-a-question-or-statement-for-a-council-meeting

-Select Statement (not question)

-Select Full Council from the drop down menu

-Include Greville Smyth Tennis Club in the title

-At the end there is an option to say that you will attend the meeting to read your statement. There is no need to do this as it will be shared electronically with the councillors. You can of course opt to attend if you wish.

In terms of the statement, obviously feel free to write what you wish but a couple of points that would be helpful to include:

-Tell your own story of what the club provides for you and why you enjoy it.

-The council's stated aims are for the courts to be accessible, affordable and inclusive. Can you give any personal examples of how the current provision through GSTC already meets these aims?

-The likely alternative is for the courts to become bookable through Bristol Parks Tennis. If GSTC no longer existed and the courts were access only, how would this negatively impact you, especially in terms of your connection to and involvement with the local community?

Thank you very much if you are able to take the time to do this. We will keep you updated about further ways in which you can help and if there are any developments.

GSTC committee

01/09/2026