Farming group aims to join the craze for padel

Planning documents prepared by rural and agricultural development consultants Harrison Pick, state the enterprise is seeking a change of use “from the lawfully established agricultural hardstanding to outdoor sport and recreation use, specifically the provision of padel courts, utilising the existing hardstanding surface for both the playing courts and the associated parking area”.

The papers highlight how padel is among the fastest growing racket sports. The Lawn Tennis Association says the number of adults and juniors nationally playing padel has hit one million at 551 padel venues, many of which are in urban locations.

The application follows the board of Yorkshire Tennis announcing last month it had taken “the groundbreaking decision” to rename the organisation Yorkshire Tennis & Padel Limited (YTP) “in recognition of the continuing surge in popularity and growth of the sport of padel in the county”. YTP’s statement said while padel had been introduced to Yorkshire for the first time in 2011 by Huddersfield Lawn Tennis & Squash Club, participation levels were continuing to rise, with padel attracting a new demographic to racket sports, and that the development of new facilities “continues apace”.

The statement added: “In the last 12 months alone, the county has seen new venues open at Padel Shed Huddersfield and Strike Padel in Bradford, while increasing numbers of tennis and squash clubs are adding padel courts to their facilities. So far in 2026, The Padel Club has announced plans for a new five-court facility in Sheffield and former Leeds United midfielder Stuart Dallas is part of the team behind Optimum Padel, a new eight-court padel club in Leeds. Ollo Padel has also put forward proposals to convert The Roundhouse, a Grade II-listed former railway engine shed close to Armley Gyratory in Leeds, into a ‘community-led padel’ centre.”

Padel is played on an enclosed court of 20m by 10m, typically surrounded by glazed or metal mesh screens and enclosures.

The planning documents underline the sport is widely recognised as “highly accessible, inclusive and suitable for players of all ages and abilities”.

Established East Yorkshire padel facility Wold Padel, near Driffield, which is owned by JSR Farms, describes the sport as “a dynamic mix of tennis and squash, played in doubles and singles on an enclosed court about a third the size of a tennis court”.

JSR Farms said “with padel becoming so popular”, they had decided to make use of a barn which had “sat unused for a number of years”.

The planning papers emphasised that no new hardstanding was being proposed at North Farm, which includes about 245 acres of owner-occupied land, with a livestock enterprise extending to 160,000 free range hens.

The application site currently comprises an area of crushed stone hardstanding within the established farmstead at North Farm.

Planning permission is being sought for two outdoor padel courts surrounded by glass and mesh. The courts would present “a visual character consistent with other outdoor sport and recreation facilities found in rural locations”, the documents state, adding the “development footprint is limited to a previously disturbed and surfaced area with no impact upon undeveloped agricultural land”.

A statement submitted as part of the application said: "The proposal represents an appropriate form of farm diversification that will generate economic activity and provide leisure and recreation benefits for users from the local area and the wider East Riding. As an outdoor, open-air facility making use of an existing surface, it is consistent with the character of the countryside and does not require any new buildings or enclosed structures of significant bulk or mass."

The Harrison Pick report states while the surrounding area is characterised by open agricultural land typical of the East Riding, the immediate farm complex provides a degree of screening and visual containment.