In short:

A communication error has left courts at the Brunswick Tennis Club closed to the public for almost eight months.

The Shire of Harvey says some permit conditions may not have been adequately communicated to the club prior to works commencing.

What's next?

Three out of four courts will soon be refurbished and an official hopes the club will be open by the end of 2025.

Tennis players in a small country town have been left with nowhere to swing their racquets after a bureaucratic dispute shut down their courts.

Courts at the Brunswick Tennis Club, 165 kilometres south of Perth, have been closed for almost eight months.

A long-awaited refurbishment got underway in December, but a stop-work order was put in place after the Shire of Harvey discovered some permits had not been approved.

Since then pieces of the old surface have been lying in piles and puddles of muddy water have covered the courts.

Brunswick Tennis Club president Julianne Hill said the original plan was to have a synthetic surface installed, but the club opted for a hard surface.

"That way we could increase the usage of the courts and introduce pickleball," she said.

"With that it meant more excavation work to a greater depth and an extra $20,000, but the shire approved that."

The closure leaves children with limited opportunities for organised sport in the town.

Failure of communication

Ms Hill said there was no advice from the shire not to start work, so the contractor began excavating the courts in late November, but work was stopped shortly after that. 

Harvey Shire president Michelle Campbell told the ABC the project was paused after some permit conditions were found not to have been met.

"The works appeared to comprise more than just resurfacing, with extensive excavation having already occurred," she said.

"Unfortunately, some of these conditions may not have been adequately communicated to the club, but they remain a legislative requirement."

At last week's council meeting the shire voted to recommence works on three out of the four courts, but costs have now blown out.

The ABC understands the fourth court will be turned into an alternate entrance to the club or left as it is until it can be refurbished in the future.

At the end of 2023, the projected cost was $161,000.

Today it is almost $360,000 (excluding GST) and the shire is required to borrow its share.

Source	Amount (excl. GST)
Shire of Harvey	$269,304
Brunswick Tennis Club	$6,831
Tennis West	$30,000
Department of Sport grant	$53,864
TOTAL:	$359,999

Hopes club will bounce back

Ms Hill says the club is the only one in town offering aspiring juniors somewhere to practice and play.

Historically the club's junior numbers have ranged from 50 to 70, which is one of the biggest membership rates in the South West.

Today, there are 15 junior players on the books.

"Unfortunately we've had parents tell us they can't come back because there's no courts here, which I understand," Ms Hill said.

"This isn't about getting kids to Wimbledon or the Australian Open — it's about being part of something. 

"We know that if this wasn't in town, some of our young people wouldn't be playing any sport at all."

A start date for the refurbishment is yet to be announced.

The shire says it has made the Brunswick Recreation Centre free for club members, but the facilities only include a badminton court.

In the meantime, Ms Hill says the site is eyesore and is unlikely to be in action for next season.

"The community feel and love for this project is massive, so we'd be really keen to see it finished by the end of summer next year," she said.

"We can probably bounce back from one year of closure, but after that it'll be really hard."