Councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee will meet next Thursday (August 29) to consider the plans, which would see two 23 x 27m courts built with netting and an 11m tall canopy. Padel tennis has exploded in popularity in recent years. The sport is a mix of tennis and squash and is played on a court one-third the size of a normal tennis court.
Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Harrogate Advertiser, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. The members’ club on Hookstone Wood Road currently offers two outdoor padel courts as well as squash courts and gym and fitness studios. According to planning documents, the new padel courts would be built adjacent to the centre’s car park and some trees which adjoin the Hookstone Nature Reserve.
A second part of the planning application would see a grassed area to the west of the existing car park used as event parking for up to 80 days of the year in association with the nearby Yorkshire Show Ground. Concerns were raised by the North Yorkshire Council’s ecologist about potential light pollution from the courts and the removal of one goat willow tree. Advertisement Advertisement Following this, the club provided further information about the lighting which stated it would be at acceptable levels and that the tree had “limited ecological benefit".
The scheme has received 72 letters of support and 58 objections. Those in fa.