BCP Council (Bournemouth area): Matt is pleased to have recently secured planning permission for the replacement of a single clay tennis court with 2 new padel tennis courts with associated screens, fencing and floodlights at the The West Hants Club in Talbot Woods in Bournemouth.
The West Hants Club is primarily a rackets club which was formed in 1926 (when this part of Bournemouth was actually in Hampshire – hence the name) and in 1999 underwent an extensive £5 million pound rebuild. The existing club has 20 tennis courts (of varying surfaces) as well as 4 squash courts and an existing Padel Tennis Court.
Padel tennis is the fastest growing sport in the UK. It is an innovative form of tennis that’s fun, flexible and easy to play. It can be played in groups of mixed ages and abilities due to it not being a power dominant sport and less technical than tennis which means it’s ideal for friends and families to learn and play together.
The Lawn Tennis Association (‘the LTA’), who are the official governing body of tennis in Great Britain, aim to integrate padel into the fabric of tennis in Britain. The West Hants Club is one of the LTA’s Regional Performance Centres. In addition the club has a thriving Junior Tennis Academy which is partnered with a number of local schools. The LTA’s Padel Development Plan explains one of the key strategies to grow the sport of tennis is to find new ways to grow participation and padel is seen as a fantastic entry to the sport of tennis as well as being a great example of how less physically active members of the community are able to join in and participate in racket sports – promoting health and well-being.
This application followed a previous refusal on the site for 3 padel courts back in 2022 which were sited adjacent to the western boundary. The sole reason for refusal concerned insufficient information that it would not cause a detrimental level of noise and disturbance to neighbouring properties. Following this decision the applicants worked closely with the Environmental Health officer to overcome this sole reason for refusal. The new padel courts were specifically relocated to the most central position within the Club grounds to be sited as far away from neighbouring residents as possible. This was deemed the most suitable spot for the courts as it also makes use of the additional screening offered by the club house, surrounding car park and the other existing tennis courts.
We provided a detailed noise assessment which concluded that the impact on the amenities of neighbouring residents will be acceptable. The local residents commissioned their own assessment which disagreed. In view of the conflicting reports, the Council’s Environmental Health Officer commissioned an independent review of all the information provided. Following full consideration of available evidence and together with the agreed acoustic mitigation measures the environmental health officer concluded that neighbouring residents would not be adversely impacted by noise impacts from the new padel courts. However due to the number of objections received against this application (circa 50, although there were also circa 70 letters in support) the application was required to go to planning committee for determination.
At the first planning committee members adjourned the meeting in order that they could carry out a site visit to see the proposed location of the 2 new paddle courts at West Hants as well as going to the newly installed paddle courts at East Dorset Tennis Club which BCP Planning Committee approved earlier this year. The site was very useful as Members saw that due to the format of a standard padel court enclosure, the sides are more open than the ends. Matt was pleased that the Members witnessed first hand the effectiveness that the glass acoustic barrier had down the side of the end court at East Dorset tennis club in reducing the noise of the game because this scheme at West Hants proposed very similar acoustic glass screen down both the eastern and western sides of the new courts. In addition West Hants confirmed that they will be installing the same specification courts to those installed at East Dorset which had thicker glass and also a softer flooring than the older existing court at West Hants. Both of which will have further benefits in terms of noise reduction. When the above matters were given full consideration by Members at Committee last week, the application was unanimously approved!
After quite a long planning journey and having been a member of West Hants himself for over 30 years, Matt is delighted to have secured consent for these new Padel courts. If you are interested in applying for Padel tennis courts either for commercial purposes or even personal courts at your property, get in touch. Alternatively, if anyone fancies a game of Padel, phone Matt, because in his words – “Padel is his new sport”.