Plans lodged for padel court at North Yorkshire Water Park

​North Yorkshire Water Park wants to build a pair of padel courts at its site in Wykeham, Scarborough, which is located 1.5km south of the village of West Ayton.

​The site and facilities at the Water Park are accessed off Long Causeway Road.

​If the plans are approved by North Yorkshire Council, the two padel courts would be constructed at an accessible location adjacent to other sports facilities in “a safe environment”.

​Padel is a racquet sport that uses the same scoring conventions as lawn tennis, but is played on courts around a third smaller, the submitted plan states.

​The siting of the new padel courts has been proposed adjacent to the site’s main water park facilities, which are owned and managed by Dawnay Estates.

​The two courts would be enclosed by a lightweight steel frame and green wire mesh sides, incorporating tempered glass panels.

​Each court is set to be 10 metres wide and 20 metres long.

​The applicant said that the padel courts would be open for use between 8am and 9pm, seven days a week, and access would be via a code generated through an online booking system.

​The North Yorkshire Water Park has its own designated general manager, as well as other full and part-time staff, who ensure the site is well looked after and managed.

​According to submitted plans, the padel tennis court is owned and managed by Padel X and would be leased from the land owner if planning permission is granted.

​North Yorkshire Water Park boasts one of the largest natural water sports lakes in North Yorkshire and offers a “unique range of fun-filled activities, including stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, open water swimming, pedalos, and a zip line.

Padel Court Elevations, North Yorkshire Water Park. Courtesy Applicant

​Since its expansion in 2021, North Yorkshire Water Park has received around 80,000 visitors annually and has capacity for up to 1,000 people a day in the summer at peak levels.

​The site is “readily accessible” from the A170, is within an hour’s drive from York, Middlesbrough, Filey and Bridlington, and is only six miles from Scarborough, the applicant added.

​North Yorkshire Council has not set a date for deciding on the application.