Council planners say five covered padel courts at Hawley Garden Centre should be refused, despite backing from two MPs. Councillors decide on 19 November.
Plans for five covered padel courts at Hawley Garden Centre should be refused, Dartford Borough Council’s planning officers have said. They say this even though the scheme has the backing of both local MPs, the ward councillor and the parish council.
The application goes to the council’s Planning Committee at 7pm on Thursday 19 November, in the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre, Home Gardens. Councillors make the decision and do not have to follow the officers’ advice.
The officers’ report, dated 3 November, is in the committee papers. The application is 25/00602/FUL on the council’s planning register.
What is proposed
The applicant is Pulse Padel (Dartford) Ltd. It wants to remove an old polytunnel on the south-west side of the garden centre, off Hawley Road, and put up a covered padel building. The report describes:
- a domed building 55.5m by 26m and 11m high, with a PVC roof and walls over a steel frame
- four doubles courts and one singles court
- a reception and shop, changing rooms, an accessible toilet and two table tennis tables
- 10 parking spaces, two of them for disabled drivers, plus cycle racks
- a pond to catch rainwater, which would be pumped to the garden centre’s existing harvesting tanks
- opening from early morning until 11pm every day
The ground slopes, so the floor of the building would be raised by up to 1.9m in places, with retaining walls. The garden centre itself opens 9am to 5.30pm, or 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
The site is in the Metropolitan Green Belt, about 2.6km south of Dartford town centre. The M25 runs along its southern edge.
Why officers say no
The report recommends refusal for three reasons:
- It is inappropriate development in the Green Belt, it would harm the Green Belt’s openness, and no “very special circumstances” outweigh that harm
- The building’s scale, height and bulk would be “a significant and visually intrusive feature in the landscape”
- It is a large commercial use in an unsustainable location, so most players would have to drive
The case turned on whether the courts count as indoor or outdoor sport. The applicant argued the canopy was not a building, so the scheme was outdoor sport, which national Green Belt policy can allow. Officers disagreed. They said a fully covered structure that “could be insulated, heated and have air conditioning” is a building, and the courts would be indoor sport.
Officers accepted the land counts as grey belt. But to build there, national policy needs an “evidenced unmet need”. The Lawn Tennis Association backed the scheme and estimated demand for eight padel courts in the Dartford area. Officers said demand was not the same as unmet need. They noted that the Lawn Tennis Association names 72 national target areas for indoor tennis centres to grow padel. Of those, 29 are in London and the South East, and none is in Dartford.
They also pointed to existing courts:
- three courts at David Lloyd Dartford
- other courts within 5 to 10 miles in Bexley, Sidcup and Sevenoaks, some of which can be booked without a membership
On transport, the report says the site has “an infrequent bus service with no evening or Sunday service”. There is no nearby station and no footway from Hawley Road into the garden centre.
Who supports it
Most of the people who wrote in backed the plan. The applicant’s own statement, quoted in the report, says it has had more than 300 letters of support. Supporters said Dartford lacks racquet sport facilities, that local squash courts have closed, and that the courts would be playable all year without an expensive membership.
The report records support from:
- Jim Dickson, MP for Dartford, who said it would be the only fully covered padel facility in the area
- Laura Trott, MP for Sevenoaks, who has written to Kent Highways asking it to rethink its proposed conditions
- Councillor Holt, the ward member, who said it would turn “an underused, untidy and largely unmanaged” part of the site into a year-round sports facility
- Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley Parish Council, which said it is usually reluctant to support Green Belt development but backs this one
Objectors raised extra traffic, parking and pollution, and said the garden centre should stay a garden centre.
How the officers weighed it
The report sets out its planning balance in a table. In summary:
| Consideration | Weight | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Health, community and social benefits | Significant | For |
| Jobs, about 10 full-time equivalent | Moderate | For |
| Extra business for the garden centre | Moderate | For |
| Meeting the legal biodiversity gain requirement | Limited | For |
| Harm to the openness of the Green Belt | Substantial | Against |
| Harm to rural character and landscape | Significant | Against |
| Car-dependent location | Moderate | Against |
| Land that is not previously developed | Moderate | Against |
The applicant offered a community plan, with free sessions for schools, charities and community groups, over-50s classes and cheaper membership for older people. Officers gave the health and community benefits “significant positive weight”, but said they did not outweigh the harm.
Points that were settled
Several technical objections have been resolved. The Environment Agency, Kent’s drainage team and Thames Water all withdrew earlier objections after a revised drainage plan. The council’s environmental health officers did not object on noise.
Kent Highways asked for a condition banning external matches and tournaments at weekends. The parish council, both MPs and the applicant objected to it. Officers said they would not impose it if the scheme were approved, calling it “unreasonable”. They would instead limit opening to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 8pm on Sundays.
What it means for you
If you play padel, or hoped to, nothing is decided yet. The Planning Committee meeting on 19 November is open to the public, and the agenda and report are on the council’s committee page.
If councillors refuse the application, the applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. If they go against the recommendation and approve it, the report says a legal agreement would be needed to keep the use of the garden centre car park, and could secure the community programme.
If you live near Hawley Road, the courts would bring evening traffic through the garden centre entrance at times when it is now closed.
Have your say