Empty Armley warehouse to become six indoor padel courts after Leeds approval
Leeds City Council has approved Power Padel Group's plan for four doubles and two singles courts at Carr Crofts Drive, with a café, solar panels and 12 new jobs.
West Leeds is getting an indoor padel club. Leeds City Council has approved plans to turn an empty industrial unit on Carr Crofts Drive in Armley into six indoor courts, the West Leeds Dispatch reports.
What's planned
The applicant is Power Padel Group Ltd, based in Horsforth. Its plans for the warehouse include:
- four doubles courts and two singles courts in the main warehouse space
- separate male and female changing rooms with showers and toilets, plus an accessible shower
- a café and bar with a viewing area
- 29 parking spaces
- new solar panels on the roof
The business is expected to create four full-time and eight part-time jobs.
Why planners said yes
The plans were approved on the strength of a council planning officer's report. It found that the proposal would bring a vacant unit back into use, give the area a new indoor sports and leisure facility that supports health and wellbeing, and create jobs and investment in an existing building. It also pointed to measures that encourage sustainable travel, make the site accessible and generate renewable energy.
Singles courts are worth a look
Most padel is played as doubles, two against two, on a court about a third the size of a tennis court. Singles courts are narrower and less common, so having two of them makes the Armley plans a little unusual. If you're new to the format, our explainer on what padel is and our guide to padel rules and scoring cover the basics.
Indoors avoids the usual row
Many of the padel planning fights we've covered recently have been about outdoor courts near homes, from Sheffield to Alcester and Glasgow, where the crack of the ball on the glass and players shouting were the main worries. Putting courts inside an existing industrial building is one way operators are sidestepping that argument. It also means play can go ahead whatever the Yorkshire weather does.
It fits a wider pattern. According to figures from the data platform Padel Genie, reported by The Padel Paper this week, councils approved 85% of the new padel schemes they decided on over the past 12 months. Leeds already has a Slazenger Padel club, and owner Frasers Group has said a second Leeds club is in its pipeline.
No opening date has been announced for the Armley courts. Until then, our guide to where to play padel in the UK explains how to find and book a court near you, and our padel prices guide shows what an hour on court typically costs.
