Venue planned for Bathampton as there are no courts in neighbouring Bath
Padel is growing in popularity (Image: Getty Images )
Plans have been submitted to build padel courts in a village next to Bath as there remain none in the city.
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s planning committee has twice blocked plans to build the first padel courts in Bath – even though one of them was the council’s own plan. Members of the planning committee have warned that the “gunfire-like” noise of the game would harm neighbours’ mental health.
Now Smash Padel wants to build five padel courts on the former railway station in Bathampton on the edge of the city. But locals in the quiet village say they are concerned that no report on the noise impact of the courts has been submitted with the plan.
People in the village who contacted the Local Democracy Reporting Service said: “This seems to be a common reason for planning approval to be denied. Given the context of our quiet, conservation village and the topography of the surrounding countryside, this seems to be a big omission.”
Smash Padel wants to build five outdoor padel courts and a single storey pavilion made of shipping containers. The village’s railway station was closed in 1966 and the site was later used as a timber yard, but the planning application said it was now disused and “falling into a state of disrepair.”
The padel company said: “There are currently no existing padel facilities in the Bathampton area. Demand for such facilities is growing, particularly for venues to accommodate quality coaching. This is especially important for two young Bath residents who are elite athletes and currently have to travel considerable distances, notably to Smash Padel in Bicester, to access the high-level of coaching that they require.”
Padel is a sport similar to squash but plated with a solid racquet. Originally from Mexico, the sport has boomed in popularity since the Covid-19 lockdown and is one of the fastest growing sports. But there is nowhere to play the sport in Bath, as each proposal to build padel courts has been turned down by the planning committee.
Bath and North East Somerset Council originally planned to build some padel courts as part of its upgrades to Odd Down Sports Ground, but they were turned down by its own planning committee in 2024 over concerns the sound of the game would be like “Chinese water torture” for neighbours. The upgrades to the sports ground later went ahead without any padel courts.
Later that same year, the Lansdown Tennis Club proposed building padel courts but was refused planning permission over the “gunfire-like” noise. The club appealed the decision but planning inspectors upheld the planning committee’s ruling.
In addition to Smash Padel’s plans in Bathampton, the University of Bath is also trying to build the city’s first padel courts. It has included proposals to build two padel courts as part of major plans for a huge student accommodation development for 962 students at its campus The plan is still under consideration.
You can view and comment on the plan for the padel courts in Bathampton here.
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