Villagers fear fast-growing sport will make racket

4 days ago

Becki Bowdenin Airmyn

News image — Villagers opposed to the padel plan, outside the former bowling green in Airmyn

Becki Bowden / BBC Four men and three women are standing together in a line and looking at the camera. They are wearing winter coats and standing next to a former bowling green with two wooden cabins. A woman at the front has blonde hair and wears sunglasses and has her arms crossed. — Villagers opposed to the padel plan, outside the former bowling green in Airmyn

A quiet village is divided over a raquet sport that residents fear will cause too much of a racket.

Padel is one of the country's fastest-growing sports, but villagers in Airmyn, East Yorkshire, have set up an action group against plans to build two courts at a former bowls club.

St. John Meyers, who chairs the group, said: "It is extremely noisy, it is extremely intrusive and it is absolutely the wrong location for such a sport. We are a quiet, rural community."

Andy Ullathorne, a spokesman for developer Airmyn Padel Ltd, said the proposals, which also include a cafe, offered a "positive opportunity" to create a community hub where people could relax and enjoy leisure activities.

Meyers, who lives next to the bowling green, described the area as "a little sanctuary of wildlife".

"We want to preserve this, rather than having it become a concrete and glass jungle," the 71-year-old said.

"I have visited a padel court and experienced how noisy and anti-social it is. The proper location for this should be on an industrial estate or on a farm."

A drone view of a square bowling green with short green grass, surrounded by trees and several wooden and brick cabins. Houses can be seen a the top of the picture. — The proposed courts and community hub would replace this bowling green

Padel is a cross between tennis and squash, played with plastic raquets on a court with glass walls that the ball can rebound off.

Governing body the Lawn Tennis Association says it is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country because it is "fast-paced, accessible and social".

But villager Richard Bramham, who lives near the site, said: "Because padel is enclosed within a glass cage, the sound echoes and is magnified. And the ball hits the side of the court which again makes it noisier.

"It sounds like a gunshot."

The action group has collected 200 signatures for a petition opposing the courts and would like the former green to be turned into a wildlife haven, with wildflowers, a pond and an orchard.

Becki Bowden / BBC Four man wearing sports shirts and shorts smile as they stand on a court holding padel raquets - plastic short-handled, solid raquets with holes through the surface. They are standing on a blue court in a warehouse-like building. — Players at Wold Padel, near Driffield, say the sport is a good way to keep fit

Padel courts have sprung up in several communities around East Yorkshire in recent years, with plans approved in Cottingham, Hessle and Wressle, and others pending in Brandesburton, Benningholme, Driffield and Roos.

At Wold Padel, near Driffield, padel player Chris Hughes said having courts in rural areas "opens the sport to everybody".

"I think more than ever, everyone's focused on health and fitness and wellbeing.

"This is a really good way to keep moving, keep fit and it is popular."

Fellow player Rebecca Parker said: "I really enjoy padel. I like that fact that it's quite easy to pick up."

Georgina Renfrew, the manager of Wold Padel, said noise had not been an issue, though the centre is based in a rural field rather than a built-up area.

In Airmyn, the proposal for new courts has yet to be formally submitted, but the developer staged a consultation meeting in January and will hold an open event on Saturday to showcase the plans.

The parish council wants the former bowling club to remain as a leisure facility and Councillor Matt Nundy, who chairs the body, said it had been "open, honest and transparent" about the expression of interest from Airmyn Padel.

Ullathorne said: "This is a positive opportunity to reimagine the site as a welcoming community hub. Somewhere residents can meet, relax, and enjoy leisure activities locally, ensuring the facility remains viable for the future."

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