WEST Hants Club has been given the green light to build new padel tennis courts despite residents putting up a fight over “thwacking” balls. 

The sports club in Roslin Road South, Talbot Woods, is now allowed to build two new padel tennis courts in the place of its existing tennis court. 

But while 50 residents wrote letters of support to the council, 70 people, mostly living close by to the club, objected. 

Objectors mostly believed the “thwacking” of the balls would become an issue – something BCP Council’s environmental health officer said there was no evidence to support. 

(Image: Daily Echo)

Ward councillor Karen Rampton said the “repetitive thumping” of tennis balls against the glass is “very loud and disturbing” for residents living close to the club. 

She said: “The unfortunate people living by the existing court have to keep their windows and doors closed in all weathers.” 

Matt Annen, director of Pure Town Planning and on behalf of the club, disagreed that noise would be an issue for residents. 

He said the location chosen for the padel courts is the “furthest away” from neighbours, adding: “Slightly” thicker glass and soft flooring will be used in the padel courts, to reduce the noise from players."

Western planning committee chair Marion Le Poidevin said: “Even without any protections such as acoustic fencing, even the court that didn’t have any, the noise was not as bad as I feared it might be. 

“With the acoustic fencing that we saw in action at East Dorset, it made such a big difference that walking in beyond the car park you couldn’t hear any sound at all from it.  

“It’s not as though ordinary tennis is a totally silent game, one of the comments was about players shouting. Well, players shout in tennis, you only have to watch Wimbledon.”  

Councillors went on a visit to the padel courts at East Dorset Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Salterns Road, Poole ahead of the meeting on August 15. 

There, they were introduced to what the courts could look like at West Hants, including thicker glass and turf to muffle the sound. 

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of giving approval on the conditions that the games are played between 8am and 9pm and until 6pm on weekends and bank holidays and there is beefed up glass and thicker turf.