Padel is widely considered the fastest growing sport in the world – but residents of an affluent Hampshire suburb are not playing ball.
The upmarket Winchester Racquets and Fitness club has informed its members it expects to be served with a noise abatement notice after complaints from neighbours living in the £1m homes in the surrounding area.
Neighbours have been angered by the noise caused by “aggressive hard-hitting shots” likened to gunfire as the ball hits glass panels and chainlink fences.
Winchester Racquets and Fitness [WRF] dates back to 1910 and the club now boasts three padel courts that members – who pay an annual membership fee of £161 – can use.
The club said it had received communication from Winchester city council that the din amounted to a “noise issue”.
In light of padel’s increasing popularity, WRF had announced last year that it wanted to add more courts to its site. This prompted a backlash, with neighbours complaining to the council about noise levels.
Peter and Liz Russell’s home of 40 years is just 3.5 metres from two tennis courts. But Peter Russell, 75, said he would not tolerate the padel noise. “I have said I would take it as far as the supreme court. Life would not be tolerable in this house,” he said.
Russell said if the new courts were approved, it would cause the house’s value to plummet and affect their ability to sell, as well as “any sense of relaxation” in their garden because of “gunshot”-like sounds.
“Tennis has never caused this level of opposition,” he added. “We can live with tennis – it’s nothing like padel.”
John Colley, 53, lives in a cul-de-sac of houses where several rear gardens back on to the club’s padel courts.
“Padel is an easier [sport] to play, so different people are playing it and they are shouting a lot, occasionally using foul language. The actual sound from the padel racket is incredibly loud … notwithstanding all the shouting and swearing. It’s constant, all day.”
In a message to members, the club warned that padel may face new restrictions. “[A] Winchester council environmental officer has conducted a noise assessment over a period of a few weeks and concluded the noise of bat on ball constitutes a noise issue.”
The message continued: “WRF has not yet been served with a noise abatement order but we have been formally advised that notices will be served under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, probably at the end of this month. We would then have six months or so in which to show intent to comply.”
The club still intends to increase the number of padel courts while mitigating current noise levels.
