Five indoor courts, a chef-led café and bar, a sauna and a golf simulator in a former trade unit in St Annes. We secured the planning permission, working alongside Savills.
Ace Padel already ran two clubs in Stoke and wanted a third on the Fylde coast. The building was there: a vacated Howdens trade counter on an industrial estate in St Annes. Our job was to get it consented. Working alongside Savills, we prepared the planning case and drawings to take the unit from trade use to a padel and wellness club.
The first question was whether an industrial estate is the right place for a leisure use. Councils are wary of losing employment land, so the case had to show that a padel club would put an empty unit back to work, create jobs and bring footfall that the estate didn't have before. It also had to answer the practical questions of parking, access, hours of use and noise. Fylde Borough Council approved the scheme on 14 April 2026.
The plan fits five courts (four doubles and a singles) alongside a chef-led café and bar, a sauna and a Trackman golf simulator. The courts set the grid and the clear height. The social and wellness spaces take the rest, so the club earns from members between games as well as from court bookings. That's the same principle we used at Clubhouse Blackburn.
Empty trade and retail-park units are among the quickest routes to a padel club, if the planning argument is made well. Ace Padel Lytham is a good example of that route: an existing tall shed, good parking and an operator ready to trade as soon as consent came through.
If this scheme resembles your site or your programme, mentioning it is the quickest way to a conversation that gets somewhere.