TIM Henman visited Chiswick to show his support for a tennis dome which is accessible to all.

The former British number one joined children from Strand on the Green Primary for a knock about at Dukes Meadows golf and tennis facility on Friday.

The riverside venue in Dan Mason Drive, which is open to the wider community with no membership required, is also home to tennis and golf academies.

Speaking of the dome which holds five indoor courts, Tim said: “It's such a brilliant and rare place, there's no membership needed and it's in a great area, anybody can come down and get involved. Our climate doesn't help the sport, we need another 50 of these around the country and better courts in schools to help support tennis.”

Dukes Meadows which was bought by French Connection founder, Stephen Marks in 2008, is currently preparing a retrospective planning application for its tennis dome but is coming up against some resistance against the local community and Hounslow Council.

Because Dukes Meadows falls within an area designated as “Metropolitan Open Land”, the dome is considered by the council to be, in principle, inappropriate development. Despite the designation being made primarily to protect land for recreational use and the fact that the proposal enhances an existing facility and offers greater usage, there is a possibility that the application might be rejected.

Tim said: “I believe there has been some issues with gaining planning for the tennis bubble but it is such an asset to the local area. It's been great playing with the kids today, this is the age when they have so much enthusiasm and energy, you have to make it fun for them so they will come back. It's giving them such a great opportunity, this is a rare place to have these type of indoor courts, we need this type of facility in more areas.”

Dukes Meadows tennis coaching staff include Grand Slam Champion, Jo Durie and coaching great, Alan Jones who has coached 29 players to Wimbledon.