A New Forest golf club faces having to demolish padel courts after planning chiefs refused a retrospective application for the unauthorised development.
Hamptworth Golf and Country Club, near Landford, had finished construction of a 37-metre-wide building housing indoor padel courts, along with four outdoor courts, before submitting the planning application to the New Forest National Park Authority.
Work started on the padel courts on 14th June last year.
Outdoor padel courts at Hamptworth Golf and Country Club
The authority has now refused permission, only three months after an enforcement notice was issued to the club concerning the courts.
Planning officers ruled the building would cause “detrimental and harmful” damage to the “protected landscape’s character and tranquillity”, introducing excessive development into the national park.
The club argued the facility was needed to secure its long-term viability, explaining it employs 24 people and serves as an important local amenity.
It added that the courts were endorsed and supported by James Chaudry of Pickleball England.
Hamptworth Golf and Country Club padel courts
The club said: “Significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth through the planning system, especially for an existing established business which is only aiming to improve and evolve with modern needs.”
The golf club is still advertising the courts on its website, with prices ranging from £30 for one hour on the padel courts and £12 for one hour on the pickleball courts.
However, Landford Parish Council pushed for refusal, stating the development did not require a countryside location and would have “adverse impacts on the special qualities of the national park”.
Neighbours complained about light pollution from the 6.2-metre high floodlights and noise from the courts.
Those using the courts can be heard from properties more than 140 metres away, the decision notice said.
Six letters of objection were received, raising concerns about flooding, impacts on protected bat species, and the scale of the development.
The authority’s landscape officer objected to the proposal, stating it was “visually intrusive in the landscape” and failed to comply with local plan policies. Wiltshire County Council’s flood authority also objected due to “incorrect and insufficient information” about drainage work to the nearby River Blackwater.
Planning officers concluded the development could not be considered a “limited extension” of the golf club as the padel and tennis courts offered a “completely unrelated, diversified provision” that could operate independently of the golf course.
The club has six months to appeal the decision to the Planning Inspectorate.
If an appeal fails or is not lodged, the enforcement notice will require removal of all structures to restore the site to its former condition.