✓ No noise objection
Sport and leisure
Location
Tregwilym Industrial Estate, Rogerstone, Newport
Planning authority
Newport City Council
Application
26/0608
Decision
Refused, November 2026, on town-centre, employment-land and highway grounds. Noise was not a reason for refusal
Development
Warehouse to five-court indoor padel centre
Standards
Planning Policy Wales (Edition 12), TAN 11, Sport England guidance, Draft ProPG Sport and Leisure (2026), ISO 9613-2:2024
Environmental Protection told the council it could not support this padel scheme without acoustic data and recommended that the decision be deferred. With the determination timetable running, there was no time for a new baseline survey, so the assessment had to stand on absolute noise levels.
The Scheme
A former warehouse and distribution unit on an established industrial estate was proposed as an indoor padel centre with five courts, open 06:00–22:00 seven days a week. All play would be inside the existing steel-framed building, with homes to the west beyond a landscaped earth bund and acoustic barrier.
The Noise Issue
Environmental Protection pointed to the nearby homes and the early-morning start, and asked for acoustic data before the application was decided. The assessment had to cover both the average noise of a busy hour and the sharp ball and screen impacts that make padel distinctive, without relying on a contemporary background survey.
What We Did
01
Modelled all five courts in use at once for a full hour to ISO 9613-2:2024, using measured padel data of 52 dB LAeq at 5 metres and no allowance for pauses or booking turnover.
02
Tested the result with no credit at all for the warehouse, then with a conservative 15 dB containment allowance, and again with the higher Draft ProPG padel source data, about 8 dB louder.
03
Assessed individual ball and screen impacts separately, using 81 dB LAFmax at 5 metres and distance attenuation only, with no credit for the bund, barrier or building.
04
Reviewed historic survey data for the neighbouring housing as context only, and set out controls: shutters closed during play, acoustic curtains, no external amplified sound and considerate parking.
The Result
33 dB
Worst-case court noise at the nearest home with no credit for the building, LAeq,1h
17 dB
Margin below the 50 dB sports-noise criterion
61 dB
Worst-case peak event, LAFmax, against a 65 dB guide
Planning Outcome
Even with no credit for the warehouse, predicted court noise was 17 dB below the 50 dB criterion and peak events stayed below the 65 dB guide value. Newport City Council Environmental Protection then raised no objection, subject to conditions on hours, sound insulation and openings. The council refused the application in November 2026 (26/0608) on town-centre, employment-land and highway grounds; noise was not among the reasons.
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.
