Padel is a racquet sport that is played on a court that is closed off. It’s scored the same way tennis is, but like squash, you can play off the walls of the court. There is enough room for three padel courts in the space that one tennis court would normally take up. This is because the playing area is smaller and has no sidelines.
4 padel courts would be built on the north side of the club’s parking lot and part of the eastern rugby pitch. The plans are for Worthing Rugby Club, which is located at Roundstone Lane in Angmering. There will be a two-meter-high chain-link fence around the courts, and six-meter-tall floodlights will light them up at night.
Padel Projects UK gave their plans to Arun District Council on July 29. In January, they said they wanted to build 1,000 new courts to become the biggest padel tennis group in the UK. The council needs to make a choice about the plans by September 23 of this year.
They stated that the goal was to offer something “extra” to help the club and the people who live there.
They also said they wanted to work with the club and the council to help “specific groups” that need “access to sports.” Two groups they would look at are girls ages 14 to 18 and people with disabilities.
According to architects Factor 9 Design, the rugby club said the parking lot wasn’t “fully utilized,” which means that lowering the number of spaces from 110 to 82 wouldn’t have an impact on the number of spaces that were available.
Factor 9 commented: “Padel tennis will be open to children and adults, adults will be able to attend day and evening classes and social sessions Monday to Sunday. Children will be offered after-school classes, holiday camps and access via schools. This will be offered on a no membership policy – so sports open to all, on a pay-and-play basis.”