Local residents of the Coevorder Tennis Club (CTC) are making an urgent appeal to the municipality: refrain from the construction of two new padel courts. The residents are afraid of noise pollution, which will result in health problems.
Residents of the tennis club have been opposing plans to build two padel courts on the CTC grounds for years. They are particularly concerned about the noise pollution that the padel courts would cause. The ‘hugging’ of the ball sport is said to lead to physical and psychological complaints, such as sleep disturbance and stress.
One hundred residents of the tennis club, from the Oranjewijk and Nordhornerstraat, are therefore once again calling on the council of the municipality of Coevorden to abandon the plans. Herman Scholte, who lives a stone’s throw from the tennis club, hopes that the letter can stop the plans. But even if that doesn’t happen, the Coevorde resident remains hopeful. “If the padel courts are constructed, the municipality will have to assess whether the location meets the requirements.” He explains. “We assume that this assessment will indicate that the noise pollution is so great that either measures will be taken or the runway may not be put into use.”
Local residents have now also put up posters to reinforce their message. The posters contain texts such as: ‘Padel = rest goodbye’ and ‘Here padel = too many decibels’.
The municipality of Coevorden indicates that it has received the letter from local residents and understands the concerns of local residents. “These concerns were also the reason why the council did not initially grant the permit for the padel courts,” a spokesperson for the municipality explains. “Based on the court’s ruling, the municipality still had to issue the permit.” The municipality therefore does not intend to respond to the request to stop the plans. “The court has determined that the permit must be granted because the plan fits within the zoning plan. There is therefore no legal basis to stop the construction,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson is clear about testing the padel court: “As soon as the padel courts are put into use, CTC must comply with the applicable noise standards. The municipality does not carry out a standard test in advance, but can measure and enforce it if complaints arise or it appears that the standards are being exceeded.”