Oldham tennis club to introduce courts for new racket sport

Tame Valley Tennis And Squash Club, based on Greenbridge Lane in Greenfield, is set to develop two courts for padel, which will be based next to the tennis courts.

Padel is a sport originally from Mexico and is usually played in doubles on an enclosed court, slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court.

The rules of padel are a combination of those in tennis and squash, and now Oldhamers will be set to play the sport in the borough once the courts are developed.

Padel is played in an enclosed court (Image: Canva)

According to an application report prepared by Oldham Council planning officer Graham Dickman, the courts will be enclosed by walls of glass/perspex and mesh with a pitched, metal profiled roof.

In total, 20 comments were left by members of the public on the application online, the majority of which supported the proposal.

Those in support of the new courts pointed to the addition of new sporting facilities in the Saddleworth area.

However, some objections were left, with residents raising concerns over the proximity of the proposed courts to some residential homes, as well as issues over parking and noise.

The site where the courts will be developed (Image: Clement Acoustics)

In response to the concerns over noise, measures are set to be taken to minimise the noise emitted from the courts and the courts can only be used between 8am and 10pm.

In response to the loss of some trees and shrubs as a result of the development of the courts, additional trees will be planted to the south of the proposed courts, to both provide a replacement for any biodiversity which has been lost and to help with screening the courts from the nearby houses.

The plans were formally approved on behalf of the council on Friday, April 26.