Residents of an upmarket neighbourhood in Poole, Dorset, are celebrating after a millionaire's bid to install a floodlit padel court in the grounds of his £4 million mansion was refused by BCP Council.
IT entrepreneur Paul Woods, 52, had sought planning permission for the open-air court, which would have been surrounded by 14ft tall steel mesh fencing and tempered glass, along with four 20ft tall floodlights. The court was part of a wider sport and leisure development at his home in the affluent Branksome Park area, a conservation area.
Neighbours raised concerns about noise from the court, fearing the 'piercing' bursts from balls hitting solid rackets would disturb the peace. Padel rackets are solid with no strings, making a loud noise when striking the ball.
Planning officer Emma Woods found the development would 'result in an erosion of the spacious, verdant and sylvan character which defines the Branksome Park Conservation Area' and introduce an 'overly urbanised and visually intrusive' feature. The council's conservation officer described the padel court as a 'particularly harmful element of the scheme'.
Local councillor Gavin Wright, who had been approached by residents, said: 'I wouldn't want to live next to a padel court because they are incredibly noisy. Padel is a great game but it has to be in the right place such as a tennis club, not in a residential area because of the repetitive noise.'
A spokesperson for Mr Woods' architects said they were due to meet to discuss the option of appealing the council decision.
