In the last few months Ben and Josh, members of the local community and Normandy Tennis Club, have been liaising with the parish council on a proposal for a Padel Club located at Manor Fruit Farm in Normandy.

You can read more about their proposal below and in an article published by Normandy Parish Council in its September 2023 edition of The Villager. It touches on some of the main questions and feedback Josh and Ben have heard from local residents.

Normandy Parish Council has requested they gather more feedback from the community to determine if it is something that village residents want and need. They are keen to hear from as many people as possible, so please share your thoughts and opinions by completing this short questionnaire https://tinyurl.com/normandypadel

You can also contact Ben and Josh at normandpadel@gmail.com and follow them on Instagram@NormandyPadel

What is Padel?

Padel is a form of tennis that is easy to play, fun and highly sociable. It’s played in a doubles format in an enclosed court about a third of the size of a tennis court. The game is much easier to pick up than other sports, making it more accessible to all ages and abilities. As a result, Padel is the fastest growing sport in the world.

Who can play?

Padel is for everyone, and can be played by anyone. It’s easy to pick up and can be played by any age, gender and sporting ability. It is a great activity to socialise with others while also keeping fit and healthy. It requires less movement than tennis due to the smaller court and is a game of precision and skill than aerobic capacity or brute force.

Where is the new proposed location for the courts?

Manor Fruit Farm (MFF) was leased by Normandy Parish Council from Guildford Borough Council in 2000 for 125 years to provide recreational facilities for the community. The existing facilities consist of a conventional playground, adult fitness green gym, trim trail, Peace Garden, benches and picnic benches, Normandy Bowling Club, Guildford Archery Club, Normandy Therapy Garden, the Normandy Village Shop and Café and the village hall where there are numerous clubs, sports and activities run at the hall every week.

The proposal presents a great opportunity to strengthen the community hub at Manor Fruit Farm, while bringing an accessible and exciting new sport to the community.

Will there be noise from the courts?

Padel courts are much quieter than you might expect – they are approximately the same noise level as a washing machine. We have also carefully planned the proposed location of the courts at Manor Fruit Farm, to minimise noise further. The image shows that there are no houses to the south or east of the court and houses to the west are blocked by the existing village hall. To the north, the closest house is almost 200m away.

Will there be light pollution?

We would like to include small, targeted downlights to allow the community to enjoy the facility in the winter with reduced light spillage. As the court is much smaller, the height of the lights and the amount of light spillage is much less than the tennis courts. We also suggest turning all lights off at 10pm, in line with the local tennis club floodlight policy. Note that the Village Hall lights remain on until 11pm each night.

The proposed location is next to the village hall, opposite the car park.

What will the impact be on traffic and parking?

The maximum occupancy of two courts is eight people. If all players drive and travel separately, there would potentially be up to eight additional cars in the Manor Fruit Farm car park. Though Manor Fruit Farm car park holds ample space and overflow by the archery club, as a local community club we would expect and encourage members to either walk, cycle or carshare (if needed) to travel to the club anyway. In summary, we wouldn’t expect local residents to notice any meaningful difference.

How much will it cost if I want to play?

As a club centred on community engagement, we will offer preferential rates for residents of the Normandy community. This will include a range of options to ensure everyone is able to play as often as suits them (e.g. membership options to suit all types of players (single, couple, family), and “pay as you play”).

Why now?

The Lawn Tennis Association, the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, is embracing the sport by offering support to implement Padel clubs in communities across the UK. This support, however, will only be available for a limited period of time, and so we are keen to act now so we can bring this fun and accessible sport to Normandy whilst the support is available to do it.

How will Normandy benefit from this?

In Normandy, we pride ourselves on having, an idyllic village and thriving community, with multiple local businesses, and social and competitive clubs. The inclusion of a Padel Club will further enhance the community hub at Manor Fruit Farm. Players will be encouraged to visit the newly opened village shop and café to pick up snacks and grab a tea after playing. The club will provide another great service to the community,where all ages, genders and abilities can come together to socialise while keeping fit and healthy. And the courts can be made available for other fundraising initiatives within the village.

Josh and Ben, proposers of the Normandy Padel Club