New sports facilities could be on the way at Eastbourne Saffrons Sports Club

An application has been put in place which, if approved, would see the building of three covered padel tennis courts at the Saffrons Sports Club on Compton Place Road.

The application would also see an additional Padel court built as well as an extension to the existing pavilion with additional car parking.

The four courts would be the first in the Eastbourne and Lewes District area and would be the only dedicated padel tennis centre along the south coast of England.

Padel tennis is the fastest growing ball sport in Europe is a mix of squash and tennis and is played by all ages groups around the world.

In the design and access statement, Collins Planning Services Limited wrote: “It is proposed that the Centre will always be manned and in total will employ five members of staff including a manager, two LTA qualified padel coaches and two part-time front of house receptionists.

"The facility will have state of the art technology which will be used to provide on-line court booking, controlled LED lighting, court and membership payments and CCTV monitoring.

“The facility will be available to be used by all members of the local community on a ‘pay and play’ basis at affordable pricing. The pricing model allows for concessions to juniors and students. Membership will also be available, which will give additional benefits of reduced court booking fees, court booking priority and discounts on padel equipment, whether to hire or buy.”

Roger Myall, Chairman of Eastbourne Saffrons Sports Club said: “The Eastbourne Saffrons Sports Club Trust is a charity whose key objectives include supporting and subsidising sport for the local community whilst promoting wellbeing through physical activity. In the current climate, with reducing participation rates across many team sports and rising costs, the clubs committee feels that the best way to sustain sport on the site is to look to offer complimentary sports and activities which can contribute financially. Padel Tennis is an incredibly inclusive sport played by people of all ages and abilities and is an ideal fit to help us achieve our goals.”

Christopher Wilkinson, CEO of our Padel partners, Padel4All added: “We, at Padel4all, are delighted to be working with the Saffrons Sports Club on this planning application; as the fastest growing sport in the UK, we are excited that padel is coming to Eastbourne soon; with its appeal to all ages and abilities we believe that padel is the perfect sport for the local community in and around Eastbourne; and with the other sports offerings at the Saffrons, a four court padel centre there is a perfect addition."

The application has been met with support from many members of the local community who are backing the plans.

Cath Cannell from Bexhill said: “This would be a marvellous benefit to the community promoting health, fitness, social and mental wellbeing. This is a massively growing sport with a big future.”

David Brooks, from Ferring also agreed, saying: “Great development. It's about time Sussex got on board with this beneficial family activity and sport.”