Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
17
Sept
Council defends Harrogate padel courts refusal amid appeal
North Yorkshire Council has defended a decision to reject plans for two padel courts in Harrogate amid an appeal being lodged.
David Lloyd Clubs built the courts on the site of a former tennis court and social area without planning permission at its site on Oakdale Place.
Nearby residents likened the sound of balls being hit to gunshots and said the noise reverberated around Oak Beck valley.
David Lloyd lodged fresh plans for the courts in February after a previous retrospective planning application was refused.
However, councillors on North Yorkshire Council's Harrogate and Knaresborough area planning committee refused the plan in April.
The Stray Ferret revealed last week that the company has since taken the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate — which deals with planning disputes.
David Lloyd Clubs in Harrogate.
Now, the council has submitted a statement to the Inspectorate defending its refusal.
The authority said its decision was based upon “negative impacts on residential amenity” caused by “cumulative impact of noise resulting from rackets striking balls and rebounding from the glass enclosure as well as social activity”.
It adds:
The council considers that the amenity concerns substantially outweigh the benefits of approving the development proposal.
In its statement, the council requested that the planning inspector dismiss the appeal. An inspector will make a decision on the appeal at a later date.
The Stray Ferret approached David Lloyd for comment on the appeal and to ask why it had challenged the council’s decision. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.
‘Continuous noise’
The move comes after council officers recommended that the latest plans be approved at a meeting on April 28.
Lisa Alder, case officer at the council, said the proposal had been revised to ensure it would not result in “unacceptable harm” and included measures such as acoustic barriers.
The council’s environmental health officer also recommended that the courts should only be used between 8am and 8pm from Monday to Saturday and between 9am and 7pm on Sundays and public holidays.
David Lloyd had already been using the courts, but stopped last year amid the noise concerns.
However, objectors 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”.
The complaints saw the council step in and issue an enforcement notice in October 2025, which ordered David Lloyd to cease all use of the facilities.
Meanwhile, Patrick Fitzgerald, chairman of the Oak Beck Valley Residents Association, told councillors that residents would have to “tolerate this continuous noise” for seven days a week.
He added that the fencing proposed at the site would be unable to reduce the noise caused by people playing padel matches.
Councillors voted unanimously to refuse the plan on the grounds that local residents would be “negatively impacted” by the noise generated from the site.
0