NAPTON PADEL PROJECT UPDATE 

October Update

With so much achieved in just a few months, we thought it would be helpful to recap progress so far — and outline the next steps.
What we’ve achieved so far

July

  • A village survey showed 98% of respondents supported bringing padel tennis to Napton.
  • We held five focus groups with Napton WI, Napton Brownies, Napton Parents & Toddlers, and cricketers. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
  • Napton Parish Council (NPC), Napton Sports Association (NSA) and Napton Tennis Club each voted unanimously to support bringing padel to the village.

August

  • Commissioned independent consultants to complete a noise assessment and ecology study as part of the planning application.
  • Welcomed our first sponsor, RMF Installation Services Ltd (Leamington Spa), who made a generous financial commitment. Since then, three more local businesses have pledged sponsorship.
  • NPC, NSA, and Napton Tennis Club agreed to share the costs of preparing the planning application.
  • A generous local investor pledged a major contribution, taking our fundraising total to £70,000 — about 40% of the project cost.

September

  • With the backing of NPC, we submitted the planning application for two padel courts at Napton Sports Field.
  • Unfortunately, our HS2 community grant application was declined, as HS2 felt there had been limited impact on Napton of the HS2 project. We’d welcome your views on that decision!
    Likewise, Severn Trent declined funding, as they do not support local projects — a curious stance given their responsibilities in our community.
  • While we have £70,000 raised and several grant applications pending, we still need around £120,000. We are hopeful the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) will support us with a loan from their Quick Access Loan system. Similarly Warwickshire Tennis Ltd (WTL) which is the Warwickshire branch of the LTA, looks likely to loan a further £20,000.
  • NPC held an extra-ordinary meeting and confirmed their continued support for the project. However, they cannot take on a loan without Secretary of State approval — a process that could take eight months, potentially delaying the project significantly.
  • NSA also held a meeting to consider taking on the loan and managing the project. As a small charity, they were understandably concerned about the risks of a £120,000 loan and the impact on other sports clubs they support.

The way forward

To overcome these difficulties, the NSA and the Padel Committee worked together to propose a new solution: the creation of a stand-alone charity, Napton Padel Club (NPad).

NPad would…

  • Take on the LTA and WTL loans in its own name.
  • Oversee the build programme and manage the padel club once it is open.
  • Be solely responsible for repaying the loan, protecting NSA and NPC from financial risk.
    Share the same community goals as NSA and reinvest any surpluses into sport and exercise initiatives in Napton.

What’s next?

  • Napton Parish Council will meet on 6th October to decide whether to grant Napton Padel Club a rolling licence to build and operate padel courts at the Sports Field.
  • If approved, we will apply for an LTA loan and, subject to planning consent, hope to start building in early 2026.