Leeds railway engine shed set to become padel tennis venue

The Roundhouse in Leeds was opened in 1847 and originally accommodated up to 20 locomotives

A Grade II listed railway engine shed is set to be turned into a padel tennis centre after revised plans were submitted.

The Roundhouse on Wellington Road in Leeds, which was opened in 1847 and designed by Thomas Grainger, originally accommodated up to 20 locomotives.

UK Padel Club Ltd want to create a total of 10 courts at the site.

Councillors agreed to defer a decision and delegate approval of the scheme to the chief planning officer.

Padel tennis, described as a mixture of tennis and squash, would be played on five indoor and five outdoor courts the proposal from UK Padel Club Ltd stated.

Padel is played in teams of two on a court which allows players to hit the ball after it bounces back off the wall

A report to Leeds City Council said the outdoor part of the site had been set aside for 310 homes as part of the city's Site Allocations Plan.

Under the revised plan, half of that area would be used instead for the padel tennis scheme.

Peter Carlill, Labour member for Calverley and Farsley, said: "Should I be concerned that this would effectively take 150 houses out of that plan?"

However, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service councillors were told thousands of homes were on target to be built at other city centre sites.

Planning officer Robin Coghlan said: "We have a pretty comfortable supply elsewhere at the moment."

Planning permission would also be for a limited period of 10 years, the city plans panel was told, so the land could be used for housing in the longer term.

The proposal was welcomed by Historic England who said: "The use as a leisure facility with padel courts located around the perimeter of the interior of the building is a very interesting new use for the building."

"It appears it would have a minimal physical impact on the building," they added.

Councillors delegated the decision on the development to the chief planning officer, subject to conditions around opening times and noise monitoring.