Planning refused for new padel facility just outside Cork city

Plans for a new padel facility just outside Cork city have been refused by Cork City Council.

Padel Tennis Ireland Limited applied for planning for a two-story leisure facility featuring eight new courts at a site in Ardcostig, Bishopstown. The site is located just off the N71 Bandon road, less than a fifteen-minute drive from the city centre.

The company applied for permission to construct an indoor commercial leisure facility with eight courts, a reception area, changing rooms, and all other associated site works. The plans also featured a comprehensive parking layout, EV chargers and a rooftop solar array.

Padel is one of the world's fastest-growing sports, with more than 30 million players worldwide picking up rackets in recent years. The sport is easy to learn, inclusive, and similar to tennis in many ways, albeit much more beginner-friendly.

Padel Tennis Ireland's founders, Mark White and Jeremy Coyle, say they have built their careers on the belief that sport should be for everyone, with inclusiveness at the heart of the business. When the pair opened their first facility in Cork, they said they were 'blown away' by the response they received, with courts quickly being booked out.

Padel Tennis Ireland opened its first facility in Carrigtwohill in 2023, and the sport has grown in popularity across Cork in the years since. The hub in Carrigtwohill has four courts, and at the time of its construction, it was Ireland's largest padel hall.

The proposed facility in Bishopstown would have dwarfed the Carrigtwohill site, and with owners planning for double the number of courts, the demand for padel is certainly there.

Unfortunately, Cork City Council has refused the latest application from Padel Tennis Ireland.

While documents outlining the reasons for the refusal are yet to be published by the council, the documents submitted by the applicant note that the area is primarily listed for 'light industrial and other uses' under the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.

However, application documents also noted that the zoning does not explicitly exclude commercial leisure facilities, highlighting that a number of nearby sites had been used for car dealerships and residential developments. Padel Tennis Ireland has four weeks to appeal the council's decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála

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