The online survey was part of wider research as the City of Greater Bendigo shaped the draft Hard Court Facilities Strategy 2018-2028, which has been released to the public for feedback and, if adopted by the council, would guide funding priorities for the next decade.

The survey of 34 netball and tennis clubs found court upgrades, improved amenities and more volunteers were required to enable growth in membership and participation.

Upgrading playing surfaces, floodlighting and enclosed fencing were on-court priorities.

While the Elmore Tennis Club’s secretary Leanne Trewick could not comment on behalf of the club about the council’s strategy, she said the group would like to see more lawn courts replaced over the long term.

The club had recently upgraded two courts with a plexipave surface.

Mrs Trewick said the remaining four lawn courts were not ideal, with membership fees hardly covering the cost of water, grass maintenance, paint for lining and ageing equipment.

She said hard courts reduced maintenance costs. They also allowed the club to host matches and competitions out of the regular season.

Related: Council wants feedback on how to prioritise funding for ageing facilities, or turn them back into public open spaces

One of the club’s new courts was even lined for hot shot competition, which Mrs Trewick said encouraged younger people to take up the sport.

The newer courts would also help ensure the continued success of Tuesday ladies competitions, which generally attracted 60 players.

“Seriously, you often cannot get a car park, it’s so busy” Mrs Trewick said.

Not everyone looking at funding upgrades were hoping to foster competitions. No club plays at the recreation reserve in Emu Creek these days, but that has not stopped the local management committee pursuing funding.

Committee secretary Louise Scott said the hope was to upgrade courts damaged and cracked by root invasion.

“So courts would be available to families. We’ve got a growing, young population out this way,” she said.

However, there were challenges with this approach.

“It’s sort of like the chicken and the egg. There is no club playing there at the moment, and funding tends to go into tennis stadiums,” Mrs Scott said.

A recent community safety grant helped change the locks at the court, which was important because it gave more control over who used the courts.

It was one example of how the committee was changing its fund-seeking approach to reflect use at the courts.

How do we serve up tennis and netball courts to more casual users?

That was a question the City of Greater Bendigo’s coordinator of strategy and policy Matt Kerlin said had been pivotal in the formulation of a new strategy for the municipality’s hard courts.

“We want to get more people playing netball and tennis. We also want to spend our resources where there is a demonstrated need,” he said.

Mr Kerlin’s comments came as the council released a draft Hard Court Facilities Strategy 2018-2028 for public comment.

The strategy would provide direction for decisions about where the council and other local stakeholders should focus planning, funding and development.

There were 66 local venues where tennis and netball were played.

Combined, those venues had a total 246 separate courts and playing areas.

While the draft strategy would support traditional clubs and associations, Mr Kerlin said there were a lot of people who wanted to use facilities when it suited them, including at nighttime.

“How we provide for that is a big question that this strategy starts addressing, as it does for questions about how we get people more active,” he said.

Mr Kerlin said lighting courts was one way to make courts more accessible.

Facility audits, research and discussions with stakeholders had helped uncovered a range of issues, including a shortage of lit courts that could be used for training and nighttime competitions.

Mr Kerlin said another way to make courts more accessible to the public was to consider using Tennis Victoria’s Book A Court system.

“So people would be able to get online and book courts for an hour on a Wednesday night, when they were not being used by a club,” he said.

“That would also help generate income for the club.”

It would also highlight the courts’ benefits to more people in the community.

The idea would be that the Book A Court system could be introduced as facilities were planned or upgraded, Mr Kerlin said.

The strategy focused on a number of other ways to improve the access and use of hard courts, including providing an “appropriate level” of off-court amenities like toilets and shelter.

It also stated there was an oversupply of courts in low population areas like Elmore and the northern municipality, while there where not enough in key growth areas like Maiden Gully, Kangaroo Flat and Strathfieldsaye.