Residents opposing padel courts claim development will "destroy village's character"

Residents are objecting to a proposed development of padel courts at a neighbouring farm.

The proposed plan which has been submitted to Sunderland City Council would see a £1m development including six double padel courts, a café, mezzanine floor, seating area and parking at Offerton Grange Farm, on the outskirts of Sunderland.

The development has been proposed by fifth generation farmer Tania Coxon who said the diversification project is vital to secure the long term future of the farm, which has been farmed by her family since 1925.

Yet the proposal has drawn objections both online and from a number of people living in the village.

The main concerns relate to an increased volume of traffic.

Fred Hood, who has lived in Offerton with his wife Victoria for six years, said: “There’s six double courts which potentially means dozens of people coming in and out of the village at any one time.

“People move to this village to enjoy the peace and quiet of the green belt and this increased traffic is going to destroy the character of the village and the reason people moved here in the first place.”

The villagers who spoke with the Echo are concerned about the impact on road safety.

Colin Murray, 75, whose Offerton Hall Farm is also based in the village, said: “These roads simply aren’t built for this volume of traffic. Large sections are 4.75m wide and in certain places it drops to 3.3m. We regularly move our horses across a blind corner to get them into the fields and there will be an increased risk of accidents.

“Getting access in and out of the village is going to be a nightmare.”

Steve Johnson, 77, added: “We’ve a lot of walkers and cyclists using the village, which is already congested. The increased traffic is going to cause greater congestion and will be a danger to pedestrians.”

The current submitted plan suggests provision for 20 parking places based on an average use of 3.3 people per padel court, which the transport report states is to “overaccommodate the expected users”.

Residents who spoke to Echo are concerned that during peak times, if players travel on their own, it will lead to people having to park in the village.

The transport report stated: “Court occupancy is expected to vary throughout the day, with approximately 50% occupancy during the AM peak period and close to full (100%) occupancy during the PM / evening peak period, reflecting typical leisure demand patterns and increased use following the end of the working day.”

The transport report also estimates an average vehicle occupancy of 1.5 people per vehicle.

Publican Malcolm Layford, 56, who has lived in the village for five years, said: “I don’t see how 20 parking spaces will be enough and people will end up parking in the village, blocking the road and people’s driveways.”

Sales representative and fellow resident Debra Hicks, 64, added: “Getting in and out of the village is already a problem and increased parked cars could cause a problem for access for the emergency services.

“We recently had a fire in the village and the fire engine couldn’t turn around.”

Tania has responded to the parking concerns raised by residents by stressing the figures provided by independent transport consultants are based on a “robust worst-case scenario, assuming all six courts are at 100% occupancy” and that, based on their 1.5 players per vehicle assumption, there would “still be only 16 vehicles arriving during peak periods”.

She also stressed the farm has additional capacity for parking if needed.

On the issue of emergency vehicle access, Tania added: “Our proposal creates a large open access and substantial parking and manoeuvring area where an emergency vehicle could pull completely off the road and turn around.”

Residents are also concerned about noise pollution from the increased volume of traffic.

Sheena Briggs, 64, said: “My daughter is autistic and suffers from anxiety. Her safe space is her bedroom, but her window will be right next to where the traffic is going past. We had a situation recently with wagons going past her window which prevented her from settling and she was up until 2am.

“I worry the increased traffic will upset my daughter and prevent her from sleeping.”

The residents also cited increased light pollution from the development, as well as on local wildlife.

Debra said: “We see lots of wildlife in the village including birds, deer, hares, and bats, which are bound to be affected by increased traffic.”

On the issue of any light pollution from the building, Northumbria Police have submitted a planning application which recommends the use of “sympathetic lighting” to increase security.

Tania highlighted security lights are already on existing farm buildings close to the proposed development site and she has “never had any complaints”.

On environmental impact, a preliminary ecological appraisal identified impact on local wildlife to be “unlikely”.

Tania added: “Since we started sharing plans, more than 2,500 people have chosen to follow the Penshaw Padel story on social media, and we’ve received a huge amount of positive feedback from people who are excited about the prospect of the facility.”

You can have your say, both in favour and against the development, via the council’s planning portal website.

A decision is due to be made on October 31.