Are you interested in playing Padel Tennis?
A keen group of Padel tennis players are working together to bring this rapidly growing sport to East Lothian. This will become a not-for-profit community led Padel club serving East Lothian, initially with two covered floodlit Padel courts.
If you are interested in playing, register your interest by sending an email to: eastlothianpadel@gmail.com
We will keep you informed as the project progresses
What is Padel?
Padel is one of the fastest growing sports in the World because it's fun, easy to learn and very sociable. Typically, games of Padel are played as 'doubles' on an enclosed court with glass and metal walls, similar in layout to a tennis court but about half the size. Just like squash, balls can be played off the walls. If you've not played it click the yellow button below.
Latest News
Many thanks to everyone who completed the survey and have registered interest.
Following the terrific response we received from our survey that ran last November, we have been working on a number of key areas to help us move the project forward.
Demand
We modelled the level of playing interest expressed in the survey, and based on the output we are extremely confident that there is sufficient demand to justify a non-profit community-based facility initially comprising two covered floodlit Padel Courts.
Location (see map)
We have received considerable support from the team at East Lothian Council, including an ‘in principle’ provision of a lease on a site at Memorial Park, Gullane.
Consequently our first choice location is the Memorial Park site. A pre-planning application has now been submitted by East Lothian Council. Depending on the outcome of pre-planning there is potential to have full planning permission for the project at Memorial Park in around three month’s time.
Build Costs
We have approached a number of Padel court providers and have received various estimates for a covered 2-court build.
Quotes received have varied between £200K and £400K, requiring us to better understand the differences. We are looking to engage with a specialist advisor recommend by the Scottish Lawn Tennis Association and will also visit a number of courts built by some of these providers to determine the quality of their offering.
Recent storm damage to courts has been insightful and a reminder of the importance of not cutting corners!
Funding
On the funding front, we were introduced to a local member of the community who has generously offered to donate a significant level of funds.
This support will enable us to be better placed to approach other funders as well.
If you are interested, or know of anyone who may be interested in providing funding on either a grant or loan basis, we would love to hear from them! .
We will provide more details of options in future updates.
Governance
We have busy assessing the governance options for the East Lothian Padel Club,
After exploring the pros and cons of various models as well as taking professional advice we have decided to move forward as a charity.
Next Steps
As you can see we have been busy and are planning to have an open meeting in May. We will be sending out invitations nearer the time.
In the meantime If you have any questions or would like to be involved, please keep in touch by emailing us at eastlothianpadel@gmail.com
Kind Regards,
East Lothian Padel Club working group
The ELPC working group are:
Netty Verkroost,
Peter Wood,
Russell Pinkerton
Krish Bissoonauth.
Update provided on 5th March 2025
