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12
Oct
Residents call for Harrogate padel courts appeal to be rejected
Residents have called for an appeal from David Lloyd to overturn a refusal for two padel courts in Harrogate to be dismissed.
David Lloyd Clubs built the courts on the site of a former tennis court and social area without planning permission at its club 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 month that the company has since taken the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate — which deals with planning disputes.
A government-appointed planning inspector will now decide whether the padel courts should be given the go-ahead.
Call to dismiss
Now, Oak Beck Valley Residents Association has written to the Planning Inspectorate calling for the appeal to be dismissed.
The group, which represents more than 200 households in the area, said the measures proposed in the application would not prevent noise from being screened in the area.
It added that the “distinctive repetitive” noise of padel would be “particularly intrusive and incongruous” in the Oak Beck valley.
David Lloyd Clubs in Harrogate.
Meanwhile, the letter pointed to cases in eight other areas, including Bradford, Surrey and Brighton, where noise, residential amenity, acoustic mitigation and the wider effects of outdoor padel facilities had led to a refusal of planning permission.
The group added:
Our position remains that, if padel is to be provided at this location, it should be contained within a solid building.
Given the local topography, the open nature of the courts and the elevated surrounding homes and gardens, partial acoustic fencing cannot reasonably be expected to prevent the transmission and perception of padel noise.
The move comes as North Yorkshire Council defended its decision to the refuse the plans in a statement to the planning inspector.
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 added:
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 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.
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