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Search the Public Notice PortalPlans to replace a mini-golf course and balance bike track at Lancaster’s Salt Ayre Leisure Centre with four covered padel courts and a new clubhouse have been submitted.
Specialist operator Soul Padel Ltd is seeking full permission from Lancaster City Council for the £-scale scheme on a 0.15-hectare corner of the Salt Ayre site off Doris Henderson Way.
The proposal would see four international-standard padel courts installed alongside a small clubhouse formed from two converted shipping containers, offering a reception, changing rooms, accessible toilets, storage and a coffee bar with social space.
According to the planning statement, the courts would replace the existing mini-golf layout and part of the balance bike area, while the main children’s play area immediately to the south would remain in place.
Each court would be enclosed by 3–4 metre-high wire mesh and glass walls with integrated lighting, and covered by white fabric canopies on a steel frame to allow year-round play and provide some noise attenuation.
The site would continue to be accessed via the existing leisure centre car parks and footpath network, with no new vehicle access created.
Padel, described in the planning documents as one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK, blends elements of tennis and squash and is played mainly in doubles on a smaller, enclosed court.
Soul Padel says its model is built around “meet, play and connect”, with coached sessions, casual pay-and-play, and community programmes aimed at women, older players and people who are less engaged with traditional sport.
The company already operates or is developing similar venues elsewhere and argues Salt Ayre is a “logical” hub location alongside existing athletics, football and all-weather pitches.
A detailed Flood Risk Assessment confirms the site lies in Flood Zone 1, the lowest category for river and tidal flooding, but notes part of the eastern section is at medium risk from surface water now and could be at medium–high risk in future climate scenarios.
As an outdoor sports facility classed as “water compatible development”, the report concludes the project is acceptable on flood grounds, recommending a “water entry strategy” for the small clubhouse, with resilient materials, raised electrical fittings and sacrificial low-level sockets so it can safely flood and be brought back into use quickly if needed.
Ecology consultants found the land is currently a mix of hardstanding play space, modified grassland, small areas of scrub and seven individual trees, none of which are priority habitats.
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They say the scheme will require the loss of the trees, scrub and grass, which are of generally low ecological value, and that no bat roosts or invasive species were recorded on site.
However, they recommend precautionary working methods to protect nesting birds, reptiles, amphibians and hedgehogs during site clearance, and confirm a Biodiversity Net Gain assessment and off-site habitat units will be needed to deliver the mandatory 10 per cent gain under the Environment Act 2021.
Sport England has issued non-statutory advice rather than a formal objection, saying the padel plans fall outside its statutory remit but reminding the council to assess the scheme against local and national policies on sports facilities, design guidance and community access, and directing any technical queries on racket sports to the Lawn Tennis Association contact named in its response.
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