News

Plans to transform Nottingham warehouse into padel tennis centre

By Latifa Yedroudj, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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Plans have been submitted to transform an empty Nottingham warehouse into a new venue for padel tennis.

Applicant Steve Summers from Advantage Padel Ltd has applied to Nottingham City Council to house the facility at the building on Daleside Road in Sneinton.

The warehouse was previously Almor Limited, a fabric and thermal factory,  which closed down in 2022.

If approved the development will involve seven padel tennis courts along with a changing room, lounge area, club café, warm-up gym, and two outdoor padel tennis courts.

Paddle tennis is a racquet sport similar to tennis, but played on smaller courts and usually in doubles.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) describes padel as “the fastest-growing sport in the world”.

There will be 49 car parking spaces and four cycle parking spaces provided at the development, and once operational, the venue will be open to customers from 7am to 10pm every day, documents say.

The venue will hire 10 members of staff, and there also will be modifications to the existing building to improve its “aesthetic appearance”, documents say.

This includes new timber cladding and illuminated signs.

Advantage Padel currently operates one centre in Kingsley, Hampshire, with three other new centres under way in South East Hampshire, South Dorset and London.

Planning documents read: “Padel tennis is an innovative racquet sport which is played on an enclosed court that is approximately one third the size of a tennis court.

“The courts have walls, and the balls can be played off them in a similar way to the game of squash.

“The proposed development is intended to cater for one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK in a modern facility which will complement and enhance the existing offer of sporting facilities in this part of Nottingham.

“Padel tennis facilities cater for groups of mixed ages and abilities in playing together.”

The applicant previously subumitted plans for an indoor padel tennis set-up in Little Tennis Street, near Trent Basin, in November last year.

However, a notice issued by Nottingham City Council on January 29, explained the plan had been withdrawn at the request of the applicant.

The site was considered to “conflict with local planning policy” and the new site is deemed “preferable” with a “positive recent planning history for a change of use to a leisure facility”, documents say.

Advantage Padel Ltd has been contacted for comment.