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27
Feb
Fresh padel plans for Harrogate’s David Lloyd ‘offensive’, say residents
Residents have criticised fresh plans for David Lloyd to use its existing Harrogate padel courts as “offensive”.
The leisure club stopped using the two courts at its Oakdale Place site last year amid noise concerns by nearby residents.
North Yorkshire Council eventually refused retrospective plans to operate the courts, which had been in use since December 2023.
The authority said a noise assessment submitted in support of the plans did not “sufficiently account for the impacts created by the padel courts”, and that suitable mitigation had not been put in place to protect local wildlife.
However, David Lloyd submitted a new retrospective application seeking approval to use the courts and a seating area this month.
The company proposed installing acoustic fencing around the padel court to mitigate noise.
Meanwhile, the council’s environmental health officer recommended that the courts should be used between 8am and 8pm from Monday to Saturday and between 9am and 7pm on Sundays and public holidays.
Proposed site plan for padel courts at David Lloyd in Harrogate. Credit: Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson
However, Pat Fitzgerald, chairman of Oak Beck Valley Residents Association, told a Harrogate Town Council planning committee on Wednesday (February 25) that the measures were “offensive”.
He said:
The residents are supposed to tolerate this ongoing noise for 12 hours a day and it is just quite offensive that we are expected to carry on listening to this.
Cllr Patrick Milne, a Liberal Democrat who represents Stray ward, described the sound of padel tennis as a “sharp, crack” sound.
He told the council’s planning committee that the sound was “very loud and very intrusive”.
Objectors likened the sound of balls being hit to gunshots and claimed the courts had led to a “loss of the peaceful enjoyment of homes and gardens” as they were forced to “close their windows to relax”.
However, David Lloyd has said the proposed mitigation measures would "ensure that noise from the padel courts remains appropriately controlled at nearby dwellings".
Cllr David Allardyce, a Liberal Democrat who represents Bilton Grange ward on the council, described the plan as a “relatively simple structure”.
He added that, while he understood residents’ concerns over noise, the north side of Harrogate lacked sporting facilities.
He said:
It is kind of sad because padel or indeed any sporting activity is undoubtedly good for health and wellbeing.
I think the north side of Harrogate is a bit of a poor relation to the south side of Harrogate and it lacks the facilities that are on that south side.
Meanwhile, Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Saltergate ward, pointed out that the proposal was a “retrospective application” and, as a result, the impact of the plans on residents can be measured.
He said:
At the end of the day, they have chosen to put something there. They probably didn’t realise that it was going to have the negative impact that it has.
But it has and that’s their problem.
Councillors on the town council’s planning committee voted to object to the plans.
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
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