GraceMachin Planning & Property have obtained planning permission for a new Padel Centre adjacent to Mansfield Town Football Club on behalf of the World Padel Academy (WPA).

Nick Grace was approached following the success of achieving a new Padel Tennis Centre at Notts County Football Club to deliver a new centre close to the One Call Stadium in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

Like many applications now submitted for planning permission the application required a strategic overview of the site’s opportunities and constraints at the outset which meant that prior to submission several sub consultants were brought on-board to assess matters of topography, ground conditions, highway & access, arboriculture, renewable energy, court lighting and flood risk.

Alongside this work, a padel centre design had to be formulated and at the time of submission, Mansfield required a BNG assessment of the site to be undertaken (following its recently adopted SPD), prior to the mandatory implementation of statutory BNG legislation within the first quarter of 2024.

A sequential test was also requested and specific commentary relating to the aims and aspirations of Local Plan Policies P1: Achieving high quality design and Policy P2: Safe, healthy, and attractive development.

Following submission, support for the submission came from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), Local MP, Ben Bradley and the Chairman of Mansfield Town Football Club. The application received no public objections and was presented to Planning Committee with a positive recommendation to permit subject to the signing of a s106 agreement (a single payment was requested to improve public transport infrastructure). The application was approved at the first time of asking and GraceMachin Planning & Property hope that this will be one of many applications they will submit and secure on sites across the UK.

The WPA are looking to deliver a range of new bespoke Padel Courts sites across the UK to meet unprecedented demand from existing and new players. This follows Padel Tennis being created in Mexico in 1969 and has been played throughout South America and southern Europe for decades. Game, Set and Match – GraceMachin Planning & Property and the WPA.