New tenant finalises eviction of Talus Street Tennis Centre
A new tenant will take over the lease of Talus Street Tennis Centre in Naremburn on 1 October, following the eviction of decades-long tenant Northern Suburbs Tennis Association (NSTA).
The site is owned by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC) following a successful land claim in 2022. MLALC served NSTA with an eviction notice in early August and have since signed on new tenant Racquet Club. MLALC chief executive officer Nathan Moran has previously told media that the decision came down to the new tenants being willing to pay more rent, with NSTA allegedly paying 20% of the market value.
Tennis will remain at the site, with Racquet Club aiming to convert two of the eight courts for padel (a combination of tennis, squash and badminton), stating demand for racquet sports like pickleball was on the rise.
“We’re incredibly excited to be part of the next chapter of such an iconic racquet sports venue,” said co-founder of Racquet Club, Darren McMullen. “Our vision is to invest significantly in Talus Street and build on its history, creating a thriving community club where tennis remains at the heart of the venue, alongside padel and pickleball.”
The new lease will see 40-year tenants and site managers NSTA and community tennis club Love‘n Deuce without a home. Love‘n Deuce managing director Paul Francis – founder of children’s charity Humpty Dumpty Foundation – said the eviction notice was ‘a total shock.’
Mr Francis said the community impact of the tennis centre had been significant, with around 1,200 people playing each week, amounting to approximately 60,000 per year. “Most of those would be Love‘n Deuce players,” he said. “Our occupancy rate is 80% and the national average is 25%.”
Mr Francis emphasised Love‘n Deuce’s importance beyond the tennis court, with members having made long-lasting connections in the decades that the club has operated on site.
“What happens off the court is just as important,” he told NL.
“People sitting back, socialising; so many people have said to me it’s their favourite time of the week just to get away from the rat race and go down there and get some exercise and talk to their friends.”
Mr Francis was due to meet with MLALC CEO Nathan Moran on 9 September, but he said the meeting was cancelled. Despite the new lease, Love‘n Deuce are still fighting to keep their service alive at Talus Street, with a petition gaining thousands of signatures in just a few weeks.
“The one thing about this whole ‘debacle’ is that it’s brought all the players really close together,” he said. “We’ve had unbelievable support, a lot of moving messages.
“It’s very emotional.”
Willoughby MP Tim James has also spoken about the community value of the tennis centre in NSW Parliament. Mr James told NL his priority was to uphold the community interest, ‘which is to have the site open to all, and able to be used for sporting, recreational and other community purposes.’
However, Mr James said concerns remained regarding the long term use of the site, following an unsuccessful application by the MLALC earlier this year for a 303-apartment building development. MLALC is seeking sites for housing, withdrawing the controversial ‘Lizard Rock’ Belrose housing proposal on 2 September.
“I feel like the community deserves a level of assurance and certainty here, both from the MLALC, but also from Racquet Club,” Mr James noted.
“When you look at how much housing and development is coming to (the North Shore), I think it makes good sense from a planning perspective, and from a community and environmental perspective, to just say this site will, as it has for decades, continue to serve that purpose and it will not be developed.”
The NSTA was ordered vacate by 30 September.