Chair’s Message
I welcome everyone back for the New Year and hope people had a good break. The Club and management teams have coped exceptionally well during the recent cold weather.
In 2024 we completed the electrification of the kitchen, upgrade of selected electricity infrastructure, plus the Studio – home to Pure Sports Medicine. In Q1 2025, we progress to the major refurbishment of the Members Bar, Function Rooms and Terrace areas. We know the Club is a second home for many and we are investing in refurbishing the décor and ambience of the social areas. The function rooms and Members Bar are now fully closed, and the Garden Room Bar (top left of Clubhouse stairs) will be open. We hope to complete this work by early May.
∗ We expect the Club Café to be extremely busy – especially at weekends – during this period so please bear with us as we work through these changes and make necessary adjustments to offer Members the best possible service while we carry out the refurbishment work. Click here for service updates as we work through the project.
Masterplan 2035 Update – Current Development Projects
The Board recognises the proposed development projects represent a significant investment for the Club. We have to marry these into the economic capability of the Club, and this Board will not take excessive risk re the financial viability of the Club. We do not expect to run large projects concurrently and we will limit the periods of overlap.
We remain focused on developing a clear plan for the next three years, and to communicate that consistently, clearly and broadly, while encouraging Members’ input and feedback. We recognise that this is a big club with a lot going on, so it is not easy for Members to keep on top of all the developments.
Indoor Golf Centre
In Q4 2024, Wandsworth Council Planners approved our formal application, and we are preparing the documents to go out for formal tenders. To better assess the project risk, trial pits were dug on the golf practice ground to ascertain what old building foundations existed plus the exact location of service pipework. This work did not identify any meaningful surprises.
This valuable information will assist with the tender package content being prepared and scheduled to be completed by late February. If the tenders are consistent with our estimates, the current expectation is that we would break ground post the completion of the bar and terrace project in 2025.
◊ As agreed last year the Board / Golf Committee will consult with the membership, through a survey, on its proposals given the scale of the potential investment. This will include smaller options as appropriate.
◊ We encourage Members to take up the recent offer from the Golf Professionals to experience our current indoor bay.
Padel and Pickleball Hubs Working Group
The working group is reviewing where best to place potentially separated Padel and Pickleball Hubs, and a meeting with Wandsworth Planners will be arranged shortly to see what permissions are likely to be given. Design ideas have been generated with and without roof coverings.
This project is not due to start until late 2025 or 2026 so we have considerable time to listen to Member opinions. We encourage Members who have strong perspectives to share that and work with the section committee. The topic of grass courts is always going to create a diverse range of views within a tennis club, and as we have said we will conduct a Member Survey on this topic when we have a better feeling around what is going to be feasible from a planning perspective
Finally I’m sure you would like to extend congratulations to Marc Newey and Kathy Barker on their recent wedding.
I hope everyone had a good break and here’s to a successful 2025.
Best wishes,
Michael Hill
chair@roehamptonclub.co.uk