Public Places
In August 2008, Robby Sukhdeo was interviewed by The Sun about his project. Here is an excerpt from that interview.
The sound of shots ring out - and a teenage gang member smirks on the other side of the court. Just another day in one of broken Britain’s inner cities, you might think. Well, wrong.
For these shots come from a tennis racquet, not a revolver. And it is all part of one man’s crusade to keep hoodies out of the law court by putting them on the tennis court.
Robby Sukhdeo has risked everything on transforming a gang-ridden, rundown north London park into a budding tennis club and sports centre for the whole community.
And the dad-of-three has not done this by driving out the young gangsters - he has achieved it with their help.
Since taking over the Albert Road Rec in Muswell Hill, Sukhdeo, 51, has coached tennis to 2,000 local kids.
He has also got gang members off the streets by giving them jobs on the courts and in the pavilion.
Sukhdeo said: “Despite what people think, these kids do want to play tennis. One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of gang leaders are really good sportsmen. I believe, to stop knife and gun crime, you have to engage kids - it’s no good preaching to them.”
“A lot of kids who first started playing tennis here have gone on to join bigger clubs. I hope we can produce a Wimbledon champ one day, but it’s not really about that. It’s about giving kids another avenue.”
“The youngsters who used to hang around here were described as wrong ’uns - now they are known as the ‘Pavilion Kids’.”
There’s never an inch of space not utilised
The boom in tennis participation has been so great at Albert Road that both the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the Tennis Foundation (TF) are pushing forward the model to other parts of the capital and the UK. Burgess Park in Southwark, south London, is the latest of these to gain the green light. The LTA has also ploughed in £250,000 into another Sukhdeo project - the Bruce Castle Park in Tottenham - a site that was at the heart of the 2011 London riots. The aims here will be to emulate the success of Albert Road and create a community hub, with tennis at the core. Robby firmly believes that continued success at Albert Road is “an organic process” and he remains committed to long-term development at the park, which involves not only major investment but also bringing underused facilities back to life.
Significant future investment is already being planned, with further improvements to the changing facilities and drainage for the natural pitches earmarked as a priority.
The council’s involvement
Anthony Healey, Haringey Parks Department Area Manager, explains the council’s role at Albert Road
“Albert Road is just one aspect of our role at the Council, and it’s no easy task staying on top of everything, especially with the volume of different sports and recreation the park hosts,” explains Anthony Healey, Haringey Parks Department Area Manager. “The summer is obviously the busiest time of year, and we aim to get out and cut at least twice a week in peak season.” Albert Road falls under one of Haringey Council’s six ‘operational zones’, each managed by its own team of six groundsmen. In the summer, these numbers are boosted by help from agency staff, but the core number is adequate enough to handle the various duties that fall within their remit, from recreation parks, sports pitches, school fields and grass verges. “There are two main periods when any significant renovations take place,” he continues, “usually in spring and autumn, and involve anything from repairing
damage to pitches to rotovating goalmouths - the areas often in the worst states of repair.” “We have a running
programme of repairs and carry out plenty of sanding, spiking, slitting and spot repairs to pitches. We cater for a greater range of sports here than anywhere else in the borough, so linemarking is also a common feature. You’ll often see one of us out marking out for one sport or another. No fewer than seventeen different activities are played throughout the year, so we have to mark out in various different colours.” Aussie rules football has proved a big draw at the site and, when fixtures are on, which is usually fortnightly in the summer, it’s often “quite a day” for visitors and players alike, creating a real buzz and atmosphere, explains Anthony.
Robby conducts a coaching session
“Our London clay base means drainage is poor and, when there’s heavy rain, we rarely see fixtures played through the winter months,” he says. “Good drainage would be a real boost, but it doesn’t come cheap. Our future expenditure is likely to run into the £100,000s, but, as with all our spending, it’s delivered as part of the partnership, where we’re all involved.” A more immediate goal for the park is a radical one, bearing in mind the catchment and sports mix. Robbie wants to bring bowls back to life at Albert Road and establish it as a sport for all. The end of 2012 saw Haringey’s last
remaining bowls green close, triggering Albert Road’s desire to re-establish a successful lawn once again at its own site. The Albert Road bowls club folded two years ago and has seen no play since then, but the green sits in a prime location behind the café, so Robby has high hopes that the sport could, once more, become a centrepiece, and is confident that there will be mass appeal for the sport from all those that use the park.
“Maintenance wise, there are no special
requirements for Aussie rules. It takes up a lot of space though - two football pitches - and we have help from the Aussie Rules Football Association, which supplies the posts and helps us erect them.”
In the summer, the park is chock full - local schools hold events, fun days and sports days - and the grounds team have to get on site whenever they can to carry out works. “When winter draws in, things naturally slow down,” says Anthony. “For
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