Council scraps plans for £400k padel courts

A council has scrapped plans for £436,000 of padel courts after identifying up to 14 privately funded facilities planned across the borough.

Burnley Council announced five months ago it would build them in Towneley Park on tennis courts that had fallen into disrepair.

Council officers said the Lawn Tennis Association had identified significant unmet demand for padel in Burnley and argued that a council-backed facility would help address the shortage.

However a new report has now identified 14 private padel courts that are already being played on across the borough.

The council said the scheme had been cancelled before it had even reached the planning stage and that alternative uses for the former tennis court site would now be explored.

Private padel court operators have moved into the local market in recent months, with a number of facilities now either operating or planned across the borough.

In April, plans were submitted for what was described as Burnley's first indoor padel club at the former Boohoo distribution centre on Heasandford Industrial Estate.

The proposal, submitted by the owners of Pendle Padel Club, would create eight doubles courts and one singles court and is expected to create around 20 jobs if approved.

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