Telford approves new padel centres, adding courts across Shropshire

Telford is no longer dabbling in padel. With approval now secured for a new Padel + Play centre at Halesfield Point and another court package moving through Telford Tennis Centre, the town is building out a proper padel corridor across south and central Shropshire. The pattern is clear: investors are backing the secondary market, and the planning system is keeping pace with demand that was barely visible a year ago.

The latest green light belongs to Padel + Play, which will convert units 6-13 at Halesfield Point into its fifth club. The scheme takes over 19,000 sq ft in south Telford and can fit up to six courts, plus changing facilities, a cafe and a shop. Council planners approved the plan on 10 June 2026 after concluding there were no preferable alternative sites that were available, suitable and viable. The units had been marketed for more than a year without formal offers, and the planning report said there were 13 vacant units on the estate at the time.

That approval matters because it signals confidence in a town that is starting to look underserved rather than speculative. The Lawn Tennis Association backed the project, saying it would strengthen the sport locally and improve community access. For a leisure format that depends on quick-turn participation and repeat bookings, the Halesfield model is exactly the sort of mid-market rollout the sport needs: flexible space, a dense local catchment and enough ancillary facilities to keep players on site.

The other major move is at Telford Tennis Centre, where We Do Tennis submitted a planning application on 2 April 2026 for two covered doubles courts and one uncovered singles court. The proposal also included retail, viewing, changing and cafe facilities, with the council saying the courts were expected to be ready from summer 2026 if approved. Telford & Wrekin Council had already announced a long-term partnership with We Do Tennis, along with a capital investment designed to broaden the centre’s appeal.

Telford’s first padel approval arrived in September 2025, when Cheshire Padel won permission for two courts at St Georges Sports and Social Club. That application said there were then no other public courts in Telford, which is a remarkable contrast to the current pipeline. The St Georges decision also brought hours-of-use limits and environmental and lighting conditions, a reminder that the sport’s growth still has to fit around residents and wildlife.

Shropshire’s first dedicated padel club opened at Lion Quays Resort & Spa near Gobowen in 2025. Add that to the Telford approvals, and the county is moving from padel absence to padel cluster fast enough to make bigger cities look slow.