Padel4all Fareham.

This website has been created for local stakeholders to review and make comments on the emerging proposals for the new padel tennis facility.

We are keen to hear your feedback once you have read through the proposals.

This first phase of consultation is running from Monday 10th March 2025 until Monday 24th March 2025, with details of how to make comments provided at the bottom of this webpage. There will also be a further opportunity to make comments directly to the Council when the planning application is submitted later in the Spring.

The new proposed padel facility would utilise a small area of open grassed space which is intersected by paths accessing various areas of the park to the south. The area of open space will be replaced by the new indoor sports facility. The existing car park to the north and vehicular access into the leisure centre would be utilised to support the new padel centre.

The recreational ground is bounded by residential properties and in addition to the leisure centre provides lawn bowls, a skateboard park, outdoor gym equipment, an equipped playground and tennis courts. To the north of the main Leisure Centre is the existing main surface car park serving both the leisure centre and the other park users. There is also a smaller surface car park to the western side of the park, accessed via Leigh Road.

The development will relocate and widen the existing footways which routes through to the Park Lane Recreation Ground to the south and the equipped play area to the west. This will connect with the existing pedestrian accesses to Park Lane, Leigh Road and Miller Drive. New cycling stands will be located to the north of the equipped play park so they can be used by all users of the recreation ground and padel facility. The new enclosed structure would be soft landscaped and embedded into the existing bank to ensure the facility sits appropriately within the recreation ground. It would project no further than the existing leisure building and service entrance.

Padel4all is one of the leading operators of covered padel centres in the UK. Established in 2019, their aim is to build and operate high quality padel tennis centres that are priced affordably. Their commercial aim is to build centres in accessible locations where a leisure or sports facility is already operating.

Padel4all currently have four padel centres now fully operational. Basset Down (Swindon) and Garon Park (Southend) both opened in 2021 and Lockleaze (Bristol) which opened in August 2022. They have also just opened a new facility in Eastbourne last month.

Padel4all would fund the delivery of the project, including all ground works and redirecting the existing footpaths to accommodate the new facility.

Padel4all would have full responsibility for operating the facility. The facility will be in operation 7 days a week and it is anticipated that approximately 5 employees will operate the facility, including a full-time manager and coach.

The courts are all pay-and-play which makes the game accessible to everyone. Padel4all offer concessionary pricing for juniors and students which makes playing more affordable as a family. They also have a membership scheme from just £15 per month which offers wider benefits and reduces the cost of playing further. A Padel4all membership provides benefits to be used at their other Padel4all centres.

All Padel4all centres are registered Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) venues, the National Governing Body for padel. As a registered centre they must meet the necessary standards with regards to policy and procedures relating to, safeguarding, diversity and inclusion, risk assessment and welfare. The coaching team are all LTA accredited coaches who are trained through the national coaching programme. The LTA are fully supportive of the proposed facility.

They have a scheme of work resource for padel delivery within schools and have successfully trialled wheelchair padel and are working on a roadmap which ensures they are able to deliver it in all their centres. Padel4all deliver sessions to various disability groups at all their centres including a very successful programme for a Downs Syndrome Group in Swindon which has been running for 3-years.

In return for using the existing land and facilities, the Council (who is the landowner) receives a fixed rent. Furthermore, the Leisure Centre operator also benefits from a share of the revenue in return for padel customers having access to their toilets and changing facilities, as well as additional income through secondary spend in the café.

Both the Council, Leisure Centre Operator (Everyone Active) and Padel4all are looking forward to improving the overall sustainability of the site and bringing forward these new facilities.

The proposed new padel facility would be situated to the west of Fareham Leisure Centre, accessed from Park Lane to the northeast.

Padel4all have considered the design and layout of the new padel facility carefully and consider it important that there is a clear entrance to the courts from the north. The facility will include ground works to sensitively embed the new facility to the side of the leisure centre. The design has sought to retain the majority of the existing trees and includes new tree planting to the north and south of the facility.

The development will relocate and widen the existing footways which routes through to the Park Lane Recreation Ground to the south and the equipped play area to the west. This will connect with the existing pedestrian accesses to Park Lane, Leigh Road and Miller Drive. New cycling stands will be located to the north of the equipped park so they can be used by all users of the recreation ground and padel facility.

The facility will include an office/reception area, have an open frontage with enclosed padel courts on the sides and rear, accessible toilet facilities, a storage unit and a social viewing area.

The four enclosed padel courts would be lit using LED lighting. Each court would have 4 LED lamps located on 6m high stanchions which produce focused lighting onto the playing surface of the court with little light diffusion. As the courts are under the canopy there is little light pollution created outside of the canopy.

It would utilise the existing car park to the north which operates a one-way system with a total of 337 spaces with 10 reserved disabled spaces and 18 reserved as family spaces. Cycle parking (Sheffield Stands) are also located close to the entrance of the leisure centre but new cycle stands are also proposed as part of proposals nearer the new facility.

To understand the existing usage of the car park, a survey has been undertaken on a neutral weekday and at the weekend to make sure it has capacity to accommodate the new padel centre. This has found that the highest peak during the survey was on a weekday evening when the car park reached 71% occupation (99 spaces were still available). The padel tennis facility is expected to generate 8 vehicle movements in the busiest hour. This can be accommodated within the available parking capacity at the leisure centre.

A Travel Plan will be prepared for the planning application to promote sustainable travel amongst its staff and visitors to promote car sharing and sustainable travel options where ever possible.

A drainage strategy is currently being designed and will utilise Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS). The surface water drainage strategy will include an attenuation basin and supplementary underground storage tanks, with a restricted outfall (i.e. at greenfield rates) to the surface water sewer. These measures will mean that there no increase in surface water runoff rates and ensure there is not a risk of flooding elsewhere, as a result of the development. These features will offer visual amenity and bring biodiversity benefits. This drainage scheme forms part of the wider landscape proposals to make the new facility attractive in its open space setting.

The service entrance drive to the side of the leisure centre will be slightly altered to assist emergency access to the new facility to aid maneuverability. There will also be emergency exit and steps down to this area, alongside the entrance to the north.

The position of the new facility will help to screen noise and activities, and is comfortably set-away from any nearby residential properties. The padel enclosure, nearby trees and the existing leisure centre building will also help shield any external lighting. The new padel facility will be used in a similar way to surrounding leisure premises and managed by Padel4All staff. The scheme will also include Biodiversity Net Gain measures which seek to enhance the opportunities for wildlife and ecology. The frontage and rear boundaries would be softened with new landscaping, making an attractive playing environment.

Once the consultation process has completed, we anticipate a planning application being submitted later this spring. If the application is approved, the build would commence in the Summer 2025 and subject to programme, the construction would complete by Autumn 2025.