Chelsea padel courts plan rejected despite council officers backing scheme

Plans to bring four temporary padel courts to a vacant site in Chelsea have been rejected by councillors despite receiving the backing of planning officers.Kensington and Chelsea councillors voted to refuse the application for The Clearings in Brompton Cross at a Planning Applications Committee meeting on Tuesday.The proposal, submitted by KX Gym UK Limited, would have seen four covered padel courts installed on the brownfield site for 12 months, alongside a small café and accessible toilets.Council officers had recommended approval, but committee members said there was not enough information on issues including noise and the benefits the scheme would bring to the surrounding community.The decision comes amid growing demand for padel, one of the UK's fastest-growing sports, with courts often heavily oversubscribed across London.Under the plans, local residents would have been able to book courts two days a week without needing to be members of the neighbouring gym.Speaking at the meeting, local ward councillor Walaa Idris stressed that her concerns were not about the sport itself.“Let me be clear. I have nothing against padel. It is a popular and healthy sport,” she said.“The question is whether this is the right use for this particular site and whether it is positive for our community. I do not believe it is.”More than 80 objections were submitted to the council, compared with four letters supporting the application.Among those raising concerns was the executive headteacher of a primary school opposite the site, who warned the development could worsen congestion on Draycott Avenue.Read More“I think that putting any more additional traffic along with the 20 taxi cabs that arrive for our SEND children alongside that would really cause a problem for us,” they said.“And I think that that’s something that hasn’t really been understood by the planning applicant.”The applicant argued the scheme would make productive use of a currently vacant site while providing a new sporting facility for residents.Planning agent Charlotte Jordan told the committee the proposal would provide “active surveillance of a vacant and disused brownfield site”, boost economic activity in the area and create a community sports facility while the site awaited future development.She added that the plans would ensure the unused land served a “positive community function” during the interim period before construction begins on the wider site.Councillors ultimately concluded that further detail was needed before the proposal could be approved, leaving the future of the temporary scheme in doubt.