A borough council seems to be softening its position towards the provision of padel courts in the town centre.
Maidstone council had previously told a private firm, Pulse Padel, that it would not entertain its proposal to build three padel courts on Coronation Square at Lockmeadow, which is owned by the council.
But the decision, which was taken in “informal cabinet” with no agenda papers or public scrutiny, immediately angered backbench Cllr Stan Forecast (Con), who thought the site ideal for padel, which he said was the fastest growing sport in the UK.
He raised the matter at a full council meeting last week.
He said: “I want this council to find a piece of land that could be used for padel in the county town.
“Lockmeadow had been considered privately, but it should be considered publicly, as it seems to be the perfect location.”
He dismissed fears that padel would cause noise disturbance to nearby residents, pointing out that Lockmeadow had previously housed nightclubs and a cinema, with a noisy McDonald’s drive-thru restaurant nearby.
He said: “If you don’t like noise, I suggest you don’t live in the town centre.”
But Cllr Clive English (Lib Dem), the deputy leader of the council, told him that when Lockmeadow had housed nightclubs, it had generated roughly one noise complaint every hour.
Nevertheless, Cllr English said: “We are happy to accept the matter be referred back to the cabinet.”
But Cllr Paul Harper (Fant and Oakwood Independents) insisted that Lockmeadow was “completely the wrong site.”
He said: “There are about 100 flats along Hart Street, with another 200 in Kingfisher Meadow close by.
“Any noise from the padel site would bounce straight into those flats, having a big impact on the residents.”
He pointed out that to be commercially viable, the padel court would have to operate from early morning to late at night, seven days a week.
He suggested Mote Park would be a better venue, or Whatman Park, which was close to Maidstone Barracks railway station.
Cllr Dave Naghi (Lib Dem) agreed, saying: “It cannot be on Coronation Square because then we would lose the ability to use the square for the River Festival and other cultural events.”
Padel is a racket sport of Mexican origins, combining elements of tennis and squash.
The Lawn Tennis Association is the UK’s governing body for the sport, and the association has estimated that the borough of Maidstone needs 12 padel courts to meet the growing demand.
Currently, there are only two, both in Marden, although two more are planned for the 20/20 estate at Allington.
Cllr Forecast’s motion calling on the cabinet to take a formal public decision on padel provision, including full consideration of the Lockmeadow site, was passed by affirmation, in what the Mayor, Cllr Martin Round, who was chairing the meeting, called a “fairly unanimous” vote.
After the meeting, Cllr Kimmy Milham (Green) criticised Cllr Forecast’s dismissal of any worries over noise generated by padel.
She said: “He suggested that residents of the town centre have no right to raise concerns about noise and should consider moving elsewhere if they find it disruptive.”
“This dismissive attitude toward long-standing community members undermines the principle of collaborative development.
“Rather than telling residents to leave, the discussion should be about how to responsibly integrate new facilities into the community without compromising their quality of life.
“I’ve spoken to a few mums since the meeting who live close to Coronation Square, and all were concerned both about the noise that would be generated – noise travels more easily over water – and the lighting intrusion from floodlit padel courts, which would affect not only residents, but also wildlife.
“One, named Leah, emphasised that Coronation Square was one of the last remaining open spaces next to our beautiful river, and said it was ‘not a limitless construction zone for overly eager politicians.’”
