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16
Sept
Verdict issued on padel court plans at Harrogate police treatment centre
The Harrogate branch of a charity that supports injured police officers has been given the go-ahead to install a padel court at its treatment centre.
The Police Treatment Centres, which has sites on Harlow Moor Road and is Castlebrae in Scotland, offers intensive physical and mental support to around 4,000 UK officers each year.
Injured police officers can undergo two-week residential courses at the sites, which include rehabilitation, physiotherapy and counselling services.
But the Harrogate site is set to expand its facilities, as North Yorkshire Council recently approved plans to install a padel court.
The application, lodged in March but approved today (September 16), sought approval to replace an existing tennis court and outdoor gym area with the padel court and a multi-use sports pitch.
According to a council report, the development will provide better sports facilities at the Harrogate rehabilitation centre, which will “improve the physical and mental health and social wellbeing of the residents of the centre and deliver a number of important benefits”.
It adds:
In this instance, the proposed padel court and multi-use games area would improve the sports facilities at the site and allow year-round use of the facilities for a wider number of people, beyond the existing use.
The new facilities will replace the existing outdoor tennis court and gym equipment to form a multi-use games area and padel court with associated flood lighting, fencing and resurfacing in the same location. The area is located to the south of the main buildings and to the north of a small pavilion, the land is set down from the adjacent public highway of Harlow Moor Road.
The proposed site plan.
The proposed site plan.
The council report adds the padel court will only be used by patients at the treatment centre, guests or members of staff. It will not be open to members of the public.
The application was approved subject to conditions, which include the court opening times.
The council has allowed the court to operate between 8am and 8.30pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am until 7pm on weekends.
The lighting set to be installed alongside the court will “not remain on any later” than 8.45pm Monday to Friday, and 7.15pm on weekends.
The Stray Ferret approached the Police Treatment Centres for comment, including to ask how much the new padel court will cost and how it will be funded.
A spokesperson said the charity was “not in a position to share a comment at the moment” but said it is “delighted” the proposal has been approved.
The charity is predominantly funded by voluntary donations from police officers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The charity’s chief executive, Partick Carins, last year told the Stray Ferret the Police Treatment Centres had seen a “significant spike” in demand after violent riots broke out nationwide following the murder of three girls in Southport.
Mr Cairns said at the time the Harrogate centre is “always busy”, but the riots, which led to a number of police officers being attacked, prompted a surge in applications for treatment.
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