Court Site Selection Questions Checklist

Give each candidate position a name or a letter and use it consistently in every note, photograph and sketch from the very start.

Consistent labels prevent the confusion that arrives the moment a second person joins the discussion or a contractor visits.

Mark every candidate position on one plan of the site, even a rough hand-drawn one, rather than describing them in words alone.

A single marked plan lets a specialist see the relationship between positions, which a list of descriptions never conveys.

Describe the shape of the clear ground at each position and which direction its longest run lies in, using fixed features as your references.

A specialist can tell from this alone whether a position is worth visiting, which saves everybody a wasted trip to the site.

Write down what each position is used for at present, including parking, storage, grazing, drying, growing or nothing much at all.

Losing an existing use is a real consequence of the decision, and it is usually noticed only once the court is already there.

Note how far each position sits from the house, clubhouse or nearest building, described in terms of the walk rather than in figures.

The walk decides supervision, carrying equipment, cable routes and, quite often, whether the court gets used at all.

Photograph each position from the same few standing points and keep the dates, so the whole set can be compared side by side later.

Photographs taken from consistent points are comparable; photographs taken wherever you happened to stand are not.

Note how each position feels underfoot after heavy rain, including where boots sink, where water lies and where the ground stays firm.

Wet and firm ground on the same site is the contrast a specialist reads, and it is invisible once the weather turns dry.

What the ground can support and what preparation it needs are for a qualified professional and the specialist contractor to establish.

Note any sign that a position has been filled, levelled or built on before, such as rubble at the surface, abrupt level changes or odd growth.

Ground altered in the past raises questions a specialist will want investigated before any design work is started.

Note what grows at each position and where growth is thin, patchy or unusually lush, since vegetation reports on the ground beneath it.

Bare patches and vigorous strips both mark changes below the surface, and both vanish from view once grass is cut short.

Note whether a position already carries a hard surface, base or old court, and record whatever you know about how it was originally built.

An existing base changes the whole conversation, and even a second-hand account points a specialist at what to investigate.

Note whether animals, livestock or wildlife use each position now, and whether that use would have to stop or be moved elsewhere on the site.

Displaced use has to go somewhere, and finding that somewhere is part of the decision rather than a detail to settle afterwards.

Note which way the ground falls at each position, described as which side sits lower, and whether the fall changes across the area.

What any slope means for a court base, and what changing levels would involve, is for a qualified professional to assess on site.

Walk the route a lorry or machine would take from the public road to each position and note every gate, corner, bend and narrow point on it.

The route in decides more about a position than the position itself, and it is almost invisible on a plan of the site.

Describe each gate and opening by what already passes through it, such as a car, a small tractor or nothing wider than a wheelbarrow.

Describing an opening by what fits through it is more reliable than a rough measurement and just as useful this early on.

Note anything overhead along the route, including branches, cables, wires and archways, since machines need clear height as well as width.

Anything involving overhead cables must be raised with the relevant supplier or authority and never assessed by eye from the ground.

Note what the access route would cross, including lawn, paving, a drive, drain covers, a bridge, a septic arrangement or a strip you do not own.

Damage along the route is a common source of dispute, and listing what is crossed turns it into a discussion rather than a surprise.

Note where excavated material and delivered materials could stand near each position, since both need somewhere to sit for a while.

Court work moves a great deal of material, and having nowhere to put it changes what is possible on an otherwise good position.

Note whether any route crosses land you do not control, and record the arrangement that exists now without assuming it covers construction traffic.

Rights of access over land you do not own must be confirmed with a suitably qualified adviser before any work is planned around them.

List the trees whose canopies reach over or close to each position, including those standing on neighbouring land, and photograph each one.

Trees beyond the boundary are the ones that cannot simply be removed, and they are the ones most often assumed away.

Note where leaves and needles collect around each position, since anything gathering there now will gather on a court surface later.

Leaf litter on a court is an upkeep task that runs for the whole life of the surface rather than a single tidy-up.

Note any lifted paving, cracked edges or surface roots near a position, and record where they are without digging to investigate further.

What tree roots mean for a proposed court, and what may be done near them, is for a qualified arboricultural professional to advise on.

Note the hedges and boundary growth beside each position, who maintains them at present, and from which side they are reached for cutting.

A hedge that can no longer be reached once a court and its fencing are in place turns into an entirely predictable argument.

Check whether any tree is shared with a neighbour or covered by local protection, and confirm locally what applies before assuming anything can be cut.

Ownership of a shared tree, and any protection standing over it, is confirmed with the local authority and a suitably qualified adviser.

Note trees that drop sap, fruit or berries near a position, since staining and slippery debris land on whatever sits beneath them.

Debris that stains or becomes slippery is a nuisance on grass and a recurring task on any made surface.

Note where the boundary runs at each position and how confident you are of it, marking anything uncertain plainly as uncertain.

Uncertainty recorded early is manageable, whereas uncertainty discovered during construction very rarely is.

Boundary positions and ownership must be confirmed with a suitably qualified adviser rather than assumed from a fence line.

Write down what lies immediately beyond each side of each position, including gardens, roads, footpaths, water, livestock and parking.

What sits beyond the fence drives containment, noise and consent questions long before the surface is even discussed.

Note the nearest dwellings to each position and which of their windows and sitting areas face towards it.

Distance from dwellings shapes every later conversation about noise and lighting, and it varies sharply between positions on one site.

Note any wall, fence or structure at a position that is shared with a neighbour or that supports something standing on their land.

Anything shared with a neighbour must be discussed with them and confirmed with a suitably qualified adviser before it is built against.

Note whether each position can be seen from a public road or path, and from where, since visibility affects consent discussions and use alike.

A position screened from public view raises different questions from one that will be seen by everybody passing.

Note any track, path or strip that other people use or cross at each position, and record how it is used rather than who you believe owns it.

A factual record of use avoids putting a claim on paper that you may not be able to support later on.

Write down every water, drainage, electrical, gas or irrigation run you know or suspect passes near each position, marking suspicion as suspicion.

Where buried services actually run is established by a qualified professional through proper investigation, never from an owner sketch.

Photograph every cover, marker post, valve, box and chamber near each position and mark each one on the site plan you have drawn.

Visible covers are the only part of a buried network an owner can record, and they are regularly left off early drawings.

Gather any old drawings, invoices or notes about work previously carried out on the land, however incomplete they may look to you.

Fragmentary records still tell a specialist where to look, which is a great deal better than starting from nothing at all.

Note where the nearest electrical supply sits in relation to each position, and what a cable route would have to cross to reach it.

If lighting is ever wanted, the route back to a supply becomes one of the largest differences between otherwise similar positions.

Anything involving an electrical supply must be designed and carried out by a suitably qualified electrical professional.

Note whether water is available near each position and how it would be reached, since surfaces and equipment often need washing down.

Upkeep that depends on carrying water across a site tends not to happen, which shows in the surface soon enough.

Note where surface water and foul drainage runs are believed to pass across the site, and keep that note with the plan rather than in your head.

Whether anything may connect to an existing drainage arrangement is for the relevant authority and drainage undertaker to confirm.

Put every position onto one comparison sheet under the same headings, so they are judged on the same points rather than on enthusiasm.

A shared set of headings exposes the position that is merely familiar rather than genuinely better than the others.

Write down what you would give up at each position, such as an existing use, a view, a tree, a parking space or a quiet corner.

Trade-offs stated in advance are decisions, while trade-offs discovered afterwards are simply regrets.

Write down which factors matter most to you before hearing any professional view, and keep that note unchanged for comparison later.

Priorities drift once other people start talking, and an unchanged note is often the only way to notice that it has happened.

Ask a specialist contractor which of your positions they would rule out immediately, and what would have to be established about the rest.

The quickest progress usually comes from learning which options are not real before any effort goes into them.

Ask what site investigation would be needed at the preferred position before any design is drawn, and who would carry that out.

What investigation a site needs, and what its results mean, is for a qualified professional to determine.

Confirm locally what applies to a court at your preferred position before any part of the design is settled, and note who you asked and when.

What consents or approvals apply varies by location and intended use and must be confirmed with the local authority.