A plan to build a dedicated padel tennis club which would be the first in Birmingham has been announced. The facility is being planned on a site near a giant Amazon warehouse.
IM Properties, which owns the Peddimore site on the edge of Sutton Coldfield, has announced plans to build a 10-court padel tennis facility in conjunction with The Padel Club. The firm has said Peddimore, a site next to Minworth, which is currently only home to the large Amazon EMA4 distribution centre, is the ‘ideal location for The Padel Club to debut in the city’.
It is within Sutton Connect’s ‘Green Travel District’ and the property firm says that makes it accessible by ‘walking, cycling or public transport’. It also happens to be right next to the A38 too.
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IM Properties said The Padel Club, which is backed by ‘high-profile sports people including Michael Vaughan, Jos Buttler, James Milner and Shay Given’, has drawn up plans, which are subject to planning permission, for the 10-court facility.
It would feature two open-air courts and eight covered, with a clubhouse and landscaped social area. It said Padel is the ‘fastest growing racket sport in the UK and a highly social and inclusive team sport, connecting players of all ages and abilities in a purpose-built space’.
Padel tennis is like a cross between tennis and squash, in a court about the third the size of a tennis one, but with the glass sides in play. Kris Ball, CEO of the Padel Club said: “Our club model is about more than just sport. We create places where people can meet, play, and form lasting connections.
“Birmingham is an exciting next step in our expansion, and we welcome the opportunity to share this journey with IM Properties, who are a perfect fit for our ambitions to connect people and create a strong sense of community.”
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IM Properties said the plan fits with its ‘Sustainable Futures’ strategy for creating schemes which focus on People, Place and Planet and leave a ‘lasting legacy for communities’.
Richard Lawrence, development director for IM Properties added: “Providing the local community with an amenity space and hub for the scheme is part of our placemaking strategy on Peddimore which fits in with our Sustainable Futures vision focusing on People, Planet and Place. The Padel Club concept appealed to us because it is fresh, exciting and accessible.
“The facilities are designed to encourage people to stay afterwards, socialise and build a community of like-minded individuals. It’s still in the planning stages, but we’re hopeful it will be a concept embraced by the city and its people and creates a vibrant new community hub for Peddimore, to help promote the long-term wellbeing of people.”
The Padel Club currently has three clubs in Cheshire and Gloucester with a further three planned by the end of 2025 including the Birmingham club in Sutton Coldfield. And news of the plan follows Rockwool’s proposal, which BirminghamLive reported late last year, for a sustainable insulation manufacturing facility in Peddimore, also next to Amazon.
IM Properties said Peddimore, developed in partnership with Birmingham City Council, has created more than 1,400 new jobs since it opened with the Amazon site. It added the firm has delivered a £275,000 Community Fund supporting projects and grassroot organisations and charities in the area.