New padel courts have been given the thumbs up at a luxury sports club in Weybridge.

Plans for the three semi-enclosed courts at St George’s Hill Tennis Club were approved despite neighbours saying the noise of “rowdy” players with hard rackets and balls will be “unbearable”.

The application was accepted by Elmbridge Borough Council by eight votes to five on July 23. Padel, a mix of tennis and squash, is usually played on an enclosed court surrounded by walls of glass and metallic mash.

It was put to the committee that the luxury tennis club feared it may lose business as members were already going elsewhere to play padel, which has grown rapidly in popularity over the last few years.

Speaking for the applicant, planning and development surveyor Chris Lloyd advised it is vital for the exclusive club to adapt to members’ requirements so it will not decrease in popularity.

St George’s Hill Tennis Club has been dubbed one of the UK’s most exclusive tennis clubs with an around £1,728 membership fee per year, according to Luxury Lifestyle Magazine.

However, some residents spoke out against the plans. Justine Errington, a neighbour to the tennis club, said at the meeting: “Padel has no place in this beautiful residential area.”

Representing a group of residents, she told the committee she was objecting against the “rowdy participation” of the sport for 15 hours a day, 360 days a year.

Councillors wrestled with the residents’ fears of loud noises “disturbing the peace” in their properties, with the tennis club’s noise assessment judging the noise to be acceptable. They claimed you cannot “second guess” the experts.

Officers informed the committee the average noise from the padel courts would be between 23-43 decibels, according to an independent acoustics report. Light rain or a refrigerator hum has a similar equivalent of around 45 decibels.

They also advised the committee it would be difficult to defend rejecting the decision at appeal if noise reports were shown to be acceptable.

Nearly 50 letters of objection were submitted to the council from nearby residents. Noise was highlighted as one of the main reasons for opposing the application, as well as the padel courts’ “industrial design” and “bulk” which was seen as out of character for the area.

A trial padel court was built in 2021 and ran for six months. “The noise was unbearable,” Justine said.

Officers said the tennis club has added measures in the application to mitigate the noise.

It was delayed from October 2023 due to different noise assessments from the club and the residents which needed to be independently reviewed. An independent consultant has since looked at the application and planning conditions will be put in place to reduce noise impact.

Almost 100 people wrote in support of the application with many citing the benefits the new sport facility would bring to Weybridge and the Elmbridge borough as a whole.

The club also wants to build a new gym and a new groundskeeper’s building as well as the semi-enclosed padel courts.