One local claimed the new facilities would turn the garden into a noisy ‘boys’ club’ where Paul Woods, 52, and his friends enjoy ‘padel and beers’ at his home in Poole, Dorset
Residents of an upmarket neighbourhood are celebrating after a millionaire’s bid to put up a flood-lit padel court on the grounds of his mansion was refused.
IT entrepreneur Paul Woods was determined to install the open-air court in the back garden of his £4million property to play the trendy racket sport at his leisure. His plans showed the court would have been surrounded by 14ft tall steel mesh fencing and tempered glass and four 20ft tall floodlights.
The padel court was to be part of a wider sport and leisure development on the grounds of Mr Woods’ home which horrified posh neighbours in the affluent Branksome Park area of Poole, Dorset. They expressed concerns about the noise from the court, fearing the ‘piercing’ bursts from balls hitting solid rackets would reverberate around the sylvan suburb, shattering the peace of the conservation area.
Now BCP Council has refused the planning application submitted by Mr Woods, a 52-year-old managing director of an IT marketing company who was once named entrepreneur of the year.
Planning officer Emma Woods found the development would “result in an erosion of the spacious, verdant and sylvan character which defines the Branksome Park Conservation Area.” She added it would introduce an “overly urbanised and visually intrusive” development that would appear incongruous with the area. She noted concerns raised by the council’s own conservation officer who found the padel court was a “particularly harmful element of the scheme”.
They stated the tall floodlights would introduce “visual clutter” during the day and would erode the “dark, tranquil qualities of the Conservation Area during evening hours”.
One neighbour said: “I am pleased it has been refused, that is good news and the right decision.”
Local councillor Gavin Wright had been approached by several residents asking him to take up their objections.
He said: “I wouldn’t want to live next to a padel court because they are incredibly noisy. Padel is a great game and a great way to exercise but it has to be in the right place such as a tennis club, not in a residential area because of the repetitive noise.”
Padel is the world’s fastest growing sport, with more than 25 million players across the globe.
Unlike in tennis, a Padel racket is solid with no strings and thicker meaning it makes a very loud noise when striking the ball.
Neighbours had previously spoken of their concerns that had the padel court been allowed Mr Woods’ garden would turn into a ‘boy’s club’ for him and his friends.
But his application was backed by several letters of support with people claiming it wouldn’t.
A spokesperson for Mr Woods architects said they were due to meet next week to discuss the option of appealing the council decision.
