The third in a series of four editorials concerning the noise implications of padel in the UK, geared towards those who are developing or assessing padel courts. In this editorial we will explore everything you need to know about the guidance and standards used in assessing padel court developments.
When it comes to planning, unfortunately, there are no standards or guidance in the UK currently that are specific to padel. In 2025 Padel noise guidance was published in Holland (we will cover this later) and a steering committee in acoustics has been formed to advise on UK guidance, but in reality, this will take some time. If you are involved with a planning application for padel, you may well come across different standards and guidance which can be considered, so this editorial explores the options relevant to padel.
Is noise guidance effective for padel?
Generally, if you make the guidance too complex, it will be restrictive and difficult to understand, so a system that is simple helps to provide consistency across the planning system. Guidance and standards in most areas of noise attempt to provide a single figure of ‘average noise levels’ for comparison. However, a single figure comparison is not an effective measure in accurately describing the noise created by padel, which comprises of intermittent impact noise of different tonal qualities accompanied by occasional shouting. Imagine trying to describe your
favourite song by only talking about how loud it is and you will get the idea. So, any noise impact assessment worth engaging will link to guidance but will also assess the impact noise to the context of the site and that’s where the decision will be made.
We have prepared an editorial about NIAs if you want to find out more on this link: https://maywaltersacoustics.co.uk/blog/
Firstly, what’s the difference between standards and guidance?
In simple terms standards are the rules. There are a number of these, and they generally have a broader and more general remit. Guidance is advice and typically more specific to an industry or specialism. The local authorities tend to make decisions which are justified by both, so it is useful to be able to compare the project in terms of standards and guidance.
Is the UK planning system supportive of padel?
Generally, yes. We are seeing increased scrutiny by local authorities because a lack of awareness of the noise that padel makes, which has led to some high-profile applications being refused and negative media pressure which generates complaints. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which sets out the planning strategy for England & Wales encourages development of sports facilities for purposes of health & wellbeing, as does most guidance.
What standards will my padel development be compared to?
There could be a number of them, some more relevant than others. BS 8233 sets out what the noise environment should be in and around buildings. It recommends noise limits taken from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for living areas of a building and also in relaxation areas of gardens. The noise levels are measured as LAEQ, which is an average noise level over a period of time, which is less pertinent to padel which is predominantly constructed of impact noise. However, this is probably the criteria that is judged initially by the local authority.
So which standards can you compare impact noise to?
A good question, but here’s the rub. There are none that are specific to padel, not during ‘daytime hours’ anyway when padel is mostly played. BS 4142 does get suggested frequently, as this standard does take into account and assess the character and intrusiveness of impact noise and on the face of it may appear to be a good solution – but it is purely designed for industrial and commercial assessments, so is not relevant. It could possibly be tweaked to fit padel, but in its current form it would not be useful.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) published research in 2003 on Clay Pigeon Shooting Noise Guidance, where it did very usefully measure an impulse noise level over which people start getting annoyed. Although this is useful, measuring annoyance is subjective and is dependent on a number of factors including the environment and the person’s perception of the source, i.e. they may hate shooting. Therefore, it would be difficult to take these measures directly over to padel which will be different in many ways.
What about sporting guidance?
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), who adopted padel in 2019, publish guidance which simply states that if the court is within 30m of a building, mitigation may be needed and an acoustic consultant should be hired. Sports England published some noise guidance on Artificial Grass Pitches (AGP) or multi use games areas (MUGA) which is relevant. It supports the criteria levels set in BS8233 and does provide guidance on what change in levels would be acceptable. Clearly it is designed for mixed use gaming, however it does go into some detail about mitigating impact noise caused by hockey, so parallels can be drawn to padel. The guidance is not explicit in nature, so it recommends making a decision on ‘the context of the site’ so as to be flexible regards different situations. Sports Scotland provides a similar set of guidance, which is a little more prescriptive but along the same lines.
You can download all of the relevant guidance to MUGA and padel here: https://maywaltersacoustics.co.uk/acoustic-services/
Is there any other guidance that may be relevant?
Possibly. The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) published guidance on acceptable levels of increase in noise, but this is in conjunction with an environmental impact assessment. As a consequence of complaints, Holland published their own padel criteria in 2023. It advises houses must be at least 100m away from new courts and set down noise limits for play. The consensus in the acoustic community is that it would be difficult to justify the numbers in these criteria for the UK, as the urban landscapes in both countries look very different.
So, what guidance will my impact assessment be judged on?
That’s up to your acoustic consultant, but the likelihood is the overall levels of noise will be compared against BS8233 in the first instance. Then, if there is a difference in these levels, they may be compared against Sports England Guidance or something similar to make a justification.
After this, it’s up to the consultant to justify the impact noise created by looking at the context of the site and presenting a case that it would have a minimal impact by linking in other guidance. This is where the process gets a little more subjective, but equally if you have a good consultant they this is where they can add value.
In the next editorial we will explore all the ways you can reduce noise from padel courts (mitigation). You will be able to download all of the editorials and padel noise related content here: https://maywaltersacoustics.co.uk/blog/
About the Author
May Walters Acoustic Consultants (MW Acoustics) specialise in delivering noise assessments for padel and sporting facilities.
In 2024 we independently researched and published a comprehensive noise assessment for outdoor padel courts, incorporating nearly 50 hours of measurements taken from padel and tennis courts to enable an effective comparison. The study demonstrated the direction of noise travel from the court but also revealed the content and frequency of impact noises created during play and indicated trends as to how noise will change with player skill level as padel courts become more established.
The research was presented to the IOA (Institute of Acoustics) and the CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health), where it is now been incorporated into their training content. The research has allowed construction of a model which enables noise propagation from a padel court to be accurately predicted, an essential step in helping developers gain consent for new courts in line with current UK planning guidance.
