More details of St Helens padel tennis court plans revealed

An application proposing the courts with “means of enclosure, canopy, and associated service building” to include a cafe/shop area – at Queens Park Recreation Ground, on Boundary Road – came before the planning committee on Tuesday.

According to a report to the committee, the application site covers an area of 0.15 hectares and forms the southern end of tarmacked playing courts, hard-standing, set within the recreation ground.

“This proposal is for the construction of a padel tennis facility comprising four padel tennis courts, with an associated clubhouse building,” said the report.

“The applicant explains that padel is a rapidly growing sport that blends elements of tennis and squash, with their aim to reduce childhood obesity by promoting active lifestyles through padel tennis, engaging with schools, communities, and parents.

“The four courts would be situated on the three existing basketball courts in Queens Park.

The courts will be developed on Queens Park (Image: St Helens Council)

“The courts would be laid out with artificial blue grass and enclosed with a galvanised steel frame with mesh and tempered safety glass.

“The agent has confirmed that the service building’s primary use is to provide an area to lend equipment and greet players for their booking so any drinks/snacks sold will be entirely ancillary.”

The recommendation for the committee had been to grant planning permission with authority delegated to the head of planning services to “add, amend, or remove conditions as they deem necessary” and “issue the decision” when confirmation is received that the Sport England objection is resolved.

But an amendment to the recommendation was made, and approved by the committee – this was to grant planning permission with authority delegated to the head of planning services to “add, amend, or remove conditions as they deem necessary” to ensure the “matter of the sports provision at the site is resolved” and to “issue the decision when they are satisfied this is resolved”.

What is padel?

Padel is typically played as doubles on an enclosed area a third of the size of a tennis court and with a squash-like glass back wall, is reported to be the fastest-growing racket sport in the world with more than 25 million active players in 110 countries.

According to the Press Association, the likes of sporting superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Lionel Messi and singer Shakira have all reportedly caught the bug.

What's been said?

"We are thrilled to bring padel to St Helens and be part of the town’s ongoing regeneration efforts,” said Mark Hewlett, founder of Soul Padel.

“This site will be the only covered padel club in Merseyside, and we’re excited to welcome players from across the region and beyond.

"We’re proud to be part of the community here in St Helens [and] we aim to make sure everyone feels part of the club, with affordable pricing and a wide range of coaching programmes."

Cllr Kate Groucutt, St Helens Borough Council cabinet member for business, culture and leisure, added: "We are delighted to see a business like Soul Padel choosing to invest here in St Helens borough. As a borough, we see higher participation rates in team sports than anywhere else in the country.

"With a strong sporting heritage, it is great to see new opportunities to encourage more people to get active, particularly with Soul Padel’s mission to make this growing sport more accessible and affordable coming to our borough.

"Padel is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing sports in the Northwest due to its ease to play, so it’s a fabulous opportunity to see new facilities being developed in the area around Queens Park, which will further support the wider aims of our Active Lives Strategy to encourage people to move more and support the redevelopment of brownfield land."

In addition to expanding access to padel, Soul Padel is committed to building close ties with local educational institutions, including Liverpool’s three universities, Edge Hill University, and St Helens Sixth Form College.

The facility is expected to open in early spring 2025.