✓ Approved
Sport and leisure
Location
Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
Planning authority
Durham County Council
Application
DM/26/00487/FPA
Decision
Approved, June 2026
Development
Warehouse to three-court indoor padel centre
Standards
Durham Noise Technical Advice Note, Sport England guidance, IEMA guidelines
Padel is booming, and the sharp "pop" of the ball is one of the most common reasons councils ask for a noise assessment. This scheme proposed early-morning and late-evening play, seven days a week, within reach of homes.
The Scheme
An empty warehouse on a business park was to become an indoor padel centre with three courts, open 06:00–22:00 every day. All play would be inside the existing building, with homes beyond a landscaped edge to the business park.
The Noise Issue
Impulsive ball strikes, raised voices and early and late opening hours were the concerns. The assessment needed to show that both average noise and individual peak events would stay well within what Durham County Council considers acceptable, including during the quietest hours of the week.
What We Did
01
Monitored baseline noise over a long weekend in April 2026 and identified the quietest operating hour: 43 dB LAeq,1h on a Sunday evening.
02
Modelled all three courts in use at once, using the more onerous side-of-court padel source data and internal reverberant sound.
03
Allowed only a conservative 10 dB reduction through the warehouse envelope and took no credit for the earth berm, woodland or other screening.
04
Assessed the results against Durham County Council's Noise Technical Advice Note for external amenity, internal amenity and maximum noise events.
The Result
19 dB
Predicted court noise at the nearest homes, LAeq,1h
48 dB
Predicted peak events, LAFmax
<0.1 dB
Change to the existing sound climate
Planning Outcome
Predicted padel noise was more than 30 dB below the 50 dB external guideline and comfortably inside every council threshold, with no perceptible change to the existing sound climate. Durham County Council approved the application in June 2026 (DM/26/00487/FPA).
Decision details are taken from the council's public planning register and can be checked by searching the application reference on the council's planning portal. Client and site details are kept confidential.
