Visit Rotherham featured plans last year for new padel courts at Hellaby, and at the Grange Golf Club in Kimberworth.
Padel is a form of tennis that originated in Mexico in 1969, grew across South America before making it to Spain. The sport is now rapidly expanding across Europe.
The LTA says that since 2020 the number of padel courts in Britain grew from 50 to over 800, while annual participation rose from 15,000 in 2019 to 400,000 players in 2025.
At Hellaby, Top Play Enterprises have seen plans approved to convert a vacant 33,654 sq ft warehouse. Proposals show how nine padel courts could be created in a vacant building on Sandbeck Way, with one court described as a match court, surrounded by glass and viewing areas.
The ground floor would also include a reception, bar and kitchen, plus a gym and changing rooms. Upstairs on the mezzanine level, plans show seating and viewing area plus studio space and a room for "fire and ice" treatments through a sauna/steam and an ice bath.
The planning permission states that the leisure / gym facilities shall only be used in conjunction with the use of the padel courts and shall not be made available to non members.
Top Play's plans for new outdoor padel courts at Grange Golf Club have also been approved.
The application is for the installation and provision of three flexi Padel Courts with associated enclosures and lighting and areas of soft landscaping located next to the club house on land which has previously been used as an outdoor event space and the siting of a large marquee.
The golf course is allocated Green Belt and planners at Rotherham Council said that the proposal is considered to be not inappropriate development with the siting of the padel court structure only having a limited impact on the openness of the Green Belt.
In approving the plans, the planner's concluded: "Overall, the principle of an extended recreational facility in this Green Belt location is considered appropriate outdoor recreation in land use terms and its co-location to support the viability of a long established golf club is considered acceptable. The size and siting of the facility close to the existing club house building is considered to be appropriate and will not have a harmful visual impact of the surroundings or on the openness of the adjacent Green Belt.
"The use is not considered to generate any significant noise issues over and above the existing golf club use."
Visit Rotherham has previously reported on approved plans for a refurbishment programme of the existing club house at Grange Golf Club, and the conversion of former agricultural buildings so that they can be used as holiday guest houses.
Go2Padel website
Images: LTA
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