Hundreds protest forced closure of tennis clubs and popular cafe
More than 250 protesters have converged on Malvern Town Hall to lobby against the forced shutdown of two much-loved tennis clubs and a popular cafe.
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Hundreds of protesters have converged on Malvern Town Hall to lobby against the forced shutdown of a popular tennis academy and cafe.
The Victorian Tennis Academy, which runs classes for thousands of players annually, is being booted from two locations it has leased for 18 years.
The Malvern Tennis Centre and adjacent Cubbyhouse Canteen cafe, as well as the Orrong Park Tennis Centre, were formally given the flick last week by Stonnington Council after years of deliberation over the leases.
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The council has signed a deal for both sites with a large leisure chain which operates swimming pools and golf courses nationwide.
Parent and protester Anna Wilson said she regularly visited the Cubbyhouse Canteen with her daughters and she was angry to see the “community hub” shut down.
More than 250 people attended this morning’s protest waving placards.
“I’m a regular visitor of the cafe, it’s the best you can get. I’ve been going there for eight years. I love the community feel,” Ms Wilson said.
The VTA runs tennis sessions for adults and youngsters.
VTA director Richard Foley said he now had to fire about 20 staff just weeks before Christmas, and he believed money may have been a factor in the council’s decision to award the tender to national leisure company BlueFit, who he said had no experience running a tennis centre.
“Perhaps our tender isn’t as financially competitive as others, but we feel we offer a lot more to the community,” he said.
The Cubbyhouse Canteen subleases their cafe through VTA, and owners Narelle and Bec Thompson were distraught at having to permanently close the business they’d built from the ground up.
Narelle Thompson said she and her sister, Bec, had turned the cafe into a must-visit destination for families with small children over the past eight years.
Cubbyhouse Canteen is rated 4.3 stars on Google and has glowing reviews.
Less than a week ago happy customer Helen Manisty said she had celebrated her son’s third birthday at the cafe and she praised the staff for their “top notch food and service”.
Jonathon Sprott said even the fussiest of eaters would find something delicious to eat on the menu.
While Tishanna Barbier said the fourth birthday she attended there recently went off without a hitch.
“It was great for our hosts, as all they needed to do was arrive and everything was taken care of,” she wrote.
Ms Thompson called on the council to provide her and her sister with compensation or help to find another site nearby where they could operate.
Stonnington Council and the Victorian Tennis Academy have been contacted for comment.
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