Plans for the expansion of an indoor sports centre to meet the growing demands of a new sport have been approved despite “urbanising” fears.

Sevenoaks Padel Club, based at Polhill Garden Centre near Badgers Mount, applied to the local authority for a large extension to their operation, which currently hosts only three outdoor padel courts.

In their planning application to Sevenoaks District Council (SDC), the club asked for permission to build six indoor tennis courts, a clubhouse with changing rooms and a function space at their London Road site.

“Ultimately, the project aims to provide a high-quality sports facility with significant community, health, and environmental benefits,” the plans read.

“This proposal has undergone a rigorous design process over the course of 18 months, culminating in a comprehensive planning application,” they add.

The site to be built up currently serves as an ancillary car park, but the garden centre already has 500 of its own spaces, which the developers say will be sufficient.

They also proposed to plant more than 1,000 native plants, including 400 trees, which they say “screens the building from public view and significantly enhances the views from within the site, promising a visually stunning transformation.”

“We firmly believe that this building will be a significant boon for Sevenoaks and the region, enriching the lives of the local community,” the club’s planning documents stress.

The site sits within the Metropolitan Green Belt, which covers 92% of Sevenoaks District, and is harder to get planning permission to build in.

The council’s development management committee met on Thursday to make a decision on the bid, where officers recommended that councillors voted to reject it, fearing “urban sprawl.”

“The proposal is inappropriate development in the Green Belt and is by definition harmful,” the SDC planning officers’ report says.

It “would present a significant and visually intrusive feature in the landscape, which would urbanise the rural character of the countryside,” the report argues.

But the report also notes that 506 letters in support of the plans have been sent to the council, with only two objections being raised.

“This would be a fabulous addition to the local area. I fully support this,” read one of the letters.

“I have been playing at Polhill for some time now and I really couldn't ask for anything more,” said another.

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The Mexican tennis “craze” has gripped Kent with new courts popping up all over the county.

Cllr John Grint (West Kent Ind), who represents the area on the district council and chairs Badgers Mount Parish Council, previously said: “I am personally very strongly in favour of the application.”

“We need sporting facilities for all of the people who live in our beautiful village both young and old.

“There are amazing health benefits, and we think that there’s huge demand.

“I, and a lot of other people, are inundated with messages of support from padel players across the district so we know the facility is well supported.

“The adverse views of the planning officers I believe, are wildly overdone.

“I very much hope that they will vote in favour of the proposals.”

The parish council collectively also supports the proposals.

SDC’s development management committee voted on the application at its meeting last Thursday (June 19), where the plans were approved with conditions.