Families in Bath have fought off plans to build the city’s first padel courts – after telling the council the ‘intolerable’ noise of the rackets ‘sounds like gunfire’.
The spa city’s Lansdown Tennis, Squash and Croquet Club had hoped to turn one of its 11 tennis courts into two padel courts and a mini tennis court.
Padel – a racket sport of Mexican origin usually played in doubles on an enclosed court – has enjoyed a meteroic rise in recent years, becoming one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
But a planning application to bring the sport to Bath for the first time was turned down – after dozens of objections from neighbours.
Lansdown Tennis, Squash and Croquet Club had hoped to turn one of its 11 tennis courts into two padel courts and a mini tennis court
An overhead view of the club. The local community fought off plans to build two padel courts in the vicinity
One of the major concerns was around the noise level the rackets generate when the ball is struck – described as sounding ‘like gunfire.’
And one resident John Baxter, who moved the area in 2006, said padel boarding would have been a nightmare for locals.
He said: ‘There will be disruption and negative impact upon health outlook privacy noise and right to a peaceful life.’
‘When we moved here in 2006 the application site was a quiet croquet lawn.’
John Morgan, a Lansdown Club member, echoed his concerns, adding: ‘What you actually hear is gunfire-like noise, perhaps sixteen times background noise’, before banging on the table to demonstrate.
He added: ‘Noise is the Achilles heel of padel.’
Representing the neighbours at the meeting, Tessa Hampton, of Context Planning, said: ‘Padel tennis generates a much greater level of noise and disturbance than tennis due to the hard bats and pressurised balls which constantly rebound against the court walls.’
Currently, fans of the sport are having to travel to Bristol to play it – but locals said they were relieved after the application was refused by Bath and North East Somerset Council last week.
Lansdown Tennis, Squash, and Croquet Club said that 60 of its members were travelling from Bath to Bristol regularly to play the sport
Padel has shot up in popularity in recent years, with many celebrities and sportsman taking up the sport
A 59-year old man, who lives nearby and is a member of the tennis club, said he was relieved the padel plans had been blocked.
He said: ‘Having experience of living close by to padel courts in Spain, I am in agreement with the refusal of this.
‘The noise pollution would have been intolerable.’
The neighbour said the echo of bat on ball against the transparent walls causes an unbearable din.
He said: ‘There is an enormous difference in the noise.
‘It is a great game but I don’t want to be an involuntary spectator.’
A neighbour in his 80s, who also withheld his name, said the community had rallied against the proposal with good reason.
He said: ‘It is not being obstructive for the sake of being obstructive.
‘You have got to think about the impact on your neighbours.
‘I am very happy that it has been rejected.
‘It was just going to be very noisy and there would be more traffic – it was all negative.
‘We have got a lady next door who has dementia, it would have kept her awake.’
The sport and recreation facility has served the community for over 140 years
He added that other sports at the club could become a victim of padel’s success.
He said: ‘They would want more courts because of the success of it.
‘It could take the place of the croquet lawns.
‘It is not fair to criticise people for trying something new, but it was going to affect so many people’s lives.’
Olivia Lewis, 20, a student who also lives nearby, said the neighbourhood had also come out against the club’s plans for new floodlights.
The planning proposal had included an ‘extended terrace, replacement lighting and associated works’.
The sport – which is played on a smaller court and with solid raquets – has seen a meteoric rise. Pictured: Andy Murray plays Padel at the Game4Padel pop-up event
Stars including David Beckham (pictured), Jurgen Klopp and even Serena Williams have tried their hand at padel
Olivia said: ‘The lights would have shone into our garden.
‘There are quite a lot of young families around here.
‘We were really insistent that we didn’t want the lights.’
She added that the sound of padel, like tennis, would not have been a big issue.
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She said: ‘We haven’t found the sound of tennis bad.
‘If anything it can be quite peaceful, so it isn’t the end of the world.
‘Overall the increase in traffic wouldn’t have been that bad either.’
The Lansdown Tennis, Squash, and Croquet Club said that 60 of its members were travelling from Bath to Bristol regularly to play the sport.
The club had planned to create padel courts surrounded by a 3m high glazed glass and lit by eight 6.8m column floodlights.
Representing the club, Tom Rocke told councillors at the meeting: ‘The Lansdown Club is an established sport and recreation facility located in the heart of the community it has served for over 140 years.
The club had planned to create padel courts surrounded by a 3m high glazed glass and lit by eight 6.8m column floodlights
‘It predates many of the residential properties that now provides its context, and provides a vital venue for residents of Bath and surrounding communities to participate in outdoor recreational activity.’
He added: ‘There can be few more appropriate places to extend and diversify opportunities for outdoor racquet sports for residents of Bath than in association with an established outdoor racquet sports venue that has benefited generations of residents from the city and beyond.’
The site is located within the City of Bath World Heritage Site and the Great Spa Towns of Europe World Heritage Site.
Padel was invented in Mexico in the late 1960s but has only found popularity in the U.K. in recent years.
There were just 6,000 active padel players across the UK in 2019, which rose to 89,000 in November 2021, according to the Lawn Tennis Association.
There are now more than 450 padel courts available across the UK, according to the LTA.
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