Sheffield tennis club withdraws bid to get permission for padel court after noise complaints
Noise from court described as “repetitive and intrusive”
A Sheffield tennis club has withdrawn its application to get permission for an unauthorised padel court that prompted noise complaints from neighbours.
Ecclesall Lawn Tennis Club on Carterknowle Road had applied to Sheffield City Council for retrospective planning permission for a padel court at the club.
A meeting of the council’s planning and highways committee (October 13) had been recommended by council officers to turn down the application. However, it was withdrawn by the club beforehand, councillors were told.
A report to the meeting said that 28 residents on Dunkeld Road and Carterknowle Road had made complaints about noise in response to the planning application.
The council issued an abatement notice in June preventing use of the court.
A report to the committee said: “The impulsive, repetitive and intrusive characteristics of padel noise, together with the court’s proximity to nearby dwellings and the limited effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measures, results in significant harm to the living conditions of neighbouring residents and their reasonable enjoyment of their homes and gardens, in particular those properties on Dunkeld Road.”
It added: “The noise generated by padel differs materially from that of traditional tennis. In addition to ball and racket impacts, padel generates further noise from contact with the glass and mesh enclosure.”
Padel is a game that has become popular in recent years and is a combination of tennis and squash which is played inside an enclosed cage.
The report said: “A padel court is not an inconspicuous structure. It typically comprises a substantial enclosure formed by glazed panels and mesh fencing and may also incorporate associated features such as floodlighting and canopies.”