Due to an aging population and declining interest, the number of members of the tennis club in Zweeloo has been declining sharply for some time. As a last resort, the club is now turning to padel. One of the three existing tennis courts at ‘t Alterbarg sports park must provide space for two new padel courts. The club hopes to be able to realize them this year.
According to chairman Patrick Bobbe of LTC Zweeloo, these two new padel courts are very important for the survival of an association. “And therefore they also have a social importance for the village, because the continued existence of the club benefits the quality of life in the community.”
The association currently has about seventy members, but ten years ago there were about twice as many.
However, those padel courts will not come without a fight. The tennis club has been working on the plans for two years. “We have made the necessary investment, around €200,000, and we can start construction tomorrow, so to speak.”
In recent months, however, it remained unclear whether the plans would be approved. An earlier plan received responses from four objectors and also turned out to be legally incorrect due to an error by the municipality. An excess of three meters was observed on both sides of the two padel courts outside the ‘sports’ destination. Bobbe: “A new plan was subsequently submitted in which this was repaired.” This plan has now also been approved by the mayor and aldermen.
Several local residents previously indicated that they were concerned about noise pollution. It is now common knowledge that in the game of padel a loud ‘poking sound’ is heard when the ball hits a glass plate. According to the initiators, distances have been carefully considered when it comes to noise pollution. “The standard for padel courts in such a location is that there must be a distance of at least 160 meters. The nearest house is 180 meters away.” According to the initiators, this standard has also been independently tested by the Drenthe Environment Agency.
The mayor and aldermen of the municipality of Coevorden now agree with the plan, because it fits within the environmental plan and because it improves the future sustainability of the association.
In terms of noise pollution, according to the council, this plan is also correct, although there is a holiday home 90 meters away. “But because that house may not be occupied permanently, it is also not a noise-sensitive building,” the council states. “In addition, this house is located on a recreational area. Recreational use is usually accompanied by noise in the park due to sports and games.”
The plan is currently still available for inspection, and interested parties can still respond to it. Bobbe: “We are waiting for that process. We hope that it will now succeed, so that we can start construction quickly. Before we started our plans, we had discussions with local residents and with Dorpsbelangen, because as an association we would like to society.”