Keighley RUFC plans four padel courts to secure future

Keighley RUFC has submitted plans for four padel courts within the grounds of its historic Rose Cottage site as part of a push to secure the club’s long-term future. The project would add a new layer of revenue and activity at Skipton Road in Utley, where the rugby club has been based for decades.

A planning document titled KRUFC Padel Courts was issued in April 2026 for a planning application at Keighley Rugby Union Football Club, Skipton Road, Utley, BD20 6DT. The design and access statement was reviewed by Michael Feather, and the club has formally updated members on the padel project as it works through the process.

The move lands in a town and wider district where demand for padel has already been flagged as strong. Bradford Council was told almost 50 new courts were needed to meet demand, while The Yorkshire Post has reported that Bradford “needs almost 50 new padel courts”. Keighley’s proposal would therefore place a rugby club inside a much bigger local scramble to supply court time for a sport that has quickly become part of the regional leisure economy.

Padel is already established in Bradford. Strike Padel brands itself as the city’s home of padel, and Bradford City AFC said in October 2025 that Strike Padel offers five indoor panoramic courts and is the first venue of its kind in Bradford. Keighley RUFC’s plan would push the sport further west in the district and give the club a new use for land that has traditionally been tied to rugby alone.

The proposal also fits a broader pattern across rugby clubs in Yorkshire and beyond. The BBC reported approval for two padel courts at Driffield rugby club ground, while Sandal RUFC in Wakefield won approval for four courts. Those developments show how clubs are increasingly treating padel not as a side attraction but as a way to diversify their facilities and broaden the base of people using the site.

That financial logic matters because planning and noise concerns have already slowed some UK padel schemes. For Keighley RUFC, the planning application is more than a facilities upgrade: it is an attempt to make the ground relevant to a wider market and to help keep the club viable on land that needs to earn its keep beyond rugby Saturdays.