The rapid rise of padel in the UK is fuelling a wave of planning activity, with new figures showing a 113 per cent increase in court applications in 2024 alone.
The sport’s continued surge in popularity has unlocked nearly 17,000 potential development sites across the country, according to new data released by land and planning insight platform Searchland.
Padel — a fast-paced racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash — has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing sports. Figures from the Lawn Tennis Association show that the number of people playing the sport has jumped from just 89,000 in 2021 to more than 400,000 by the end of 2024. This unprecedented growth, coupled with relatively low setup costs and compact court dimensions, has made padel a prime opportunity for investors, developers, and local authorities.
Searchland’s data reveals that the number of padel-related planning applications has risen sharply in recent years. In 2021, only 53 applications were submitted. This increased to 82 in 2022, then nearly doubled to 163 in 2023, before jumping to 348 last year — a 113 per cent annual rise. Already in 2025, 295 applications have been submitted, and the company projects this will rise to 544 by the end of the year, marking a further 56 per cent year-on-year increase.
The platform has also identified a broad and largely untapped pipeline of sites that are well-suited for padel development. It estimates there are currently 16,851 “existing destination opportunities” — sports venues such as golf courses, racquet clubs, and football facilities that have unused land suitable for padel. These sites are typically located in or near urban areas where demand for leisure activities is high. London alone accounts for 1,086 of these opportunities, with 47 of them already having submitted planning applications. Other cities showing strong development potential include Bristol, with 206 sites, followed by Edinburgh, Leeds, and Manchester.
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