There are plans to add two new padel tennis courts to the Harrogate Sports and Fitness Club. North Yorkshire Council wants to approve these plans. The council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee will look over the plan on August 29. It includes building two 23-by-27-meter courts with nets and an 11-meter-tall canopy.
In the past few years, padel tennis, a sport that combines tennis and squash, has become very popular. The new courts should make the club’s facilities even better. There are already two outdoor padel courts, squash courts, and a gym. The new courts would be put next to the club’s parking lot and close to the Hookstone Nature Reserve.
As part of the planning application, the nearby Yorkshire Show Ground has asked for a grassy area to be used as event parking for up to 80 days a year. Some locals and environmentalists are worried about this part of the plan, especially about the possible light pollution and the cutting down of a goat willow tree. But the club has dealt with these problems by giving more details about lighting levels and how cutting down the tree will affect the environment.
People who support the project say that the new courts will encourage more people to play sports and live healthier lives in the community. The people who support this idea think that the extra facilities will be great for Harrogate and give people more chances to be active.
But some people are against it because the courts are close to Hookstone Woods, an important wildlife corridor, and could have an effect on the local environment. People who are against the development are worried that it will ruin the area’s natural beauty and lead to more building in the future.
The next meeting of the council will be very important in deciding what will happen with this project. If approved, the new padel tennis courts could become a popular addition to Harrogate’s sports facilities, giving people more ways to have fun and stay fit.
