Padel courts proposed for Vue Cinema car park at Clifton Moor

An application has gone to City of York Council to change the use of part of the Vue cinema car park on Stirling Road at Clifton Moor.

If approved, the five pitches, smaller than normal tennis courts, would be used for Padel, which is often described as a mix of tennis and squash.

The proposal concerns a site area of 1982m2 and would involve removing 93 car parking spaces, reducing them from 274 to 181.

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Storage containers would also be used to create a reception area, toilets, café, and shop.

The facility would also open from 7.30am to 11pm on Weekdays and from 8am to 11pm on weekends and bank holidays.

The applicant is London-based We are Padel, who describes the sport as “extremely fast growing,” with it one of the port’s largest providers.

From 12 clubs in the Netherlands, it now has over 130 clubs, with it growing in the UK, having sites in London, Bristol, Bournemouth and Derby “already proving successful.”

Planning documents continued: “We Are Padel are very much community focussed. The entry level is very low and all are welcome to participate. Children can play for free and facilities provide job opportunities and career progression available across the board.

“If clubs meet their targets, 10% of the profits made are put back into local community projects and monthly tournaments will also raise money for local projects.”

The courts would be metal framed enclosures 4m high, with the tarmac surfacing largely retained and finished with a recycled astroturf.

The container units would be faced with a mix of Larch timber cladding and Green Wall installations.

The application adds the site is ‘very open’ with the courts positioned to the rear against a boundary. The cabin accommodation would provide a ‘welcoming entrance’ from the main car park.

The plans would remove some parking, but in terms of the overall car park, was “fairly low in terms of scale.”

The proposals are not ‘over development’ of the site, the building are single storey and the 4m court enclosures are positioned against much taller commercial buildings.

The application added the site is close to York City Centre with good public and private transport links and within the main leisure park, so ample car parking would remain.

It follows a recent application from the thriving Poppleton Community Centre, which also included two padel courts as part of its expansion plans, which have yet to be determined.

Earlier this year, Scarborough RUFC officially opened the east coast’s first dedicated padel centre at its Squash and Racquets Academy.

Surge Padel also opened in Harrogate, with six courts early last year.