Last month, Waterford Council granted planning permission for the development of two padel courts on the Mount Congreve estate. This permission came with strict conditions, for example the floodlights could not be on after 10pm.
Planning permission was welcomed by Padel100 and it had been widely reported that the project would go ahead. A YouTube video was released showing how the courts would look, and website was populated with opening times and some basic information.
However, following an appeal of this planning permission, Padel100 seemed to confirm online that they would have to pull out of the Mount Congreve site.
The Munster Express approached Padel100 CEO Ben Keohane for comment.
"Mount Congreve was a great location for us, an idyllic, beautiful setting and we had planned to develop two padel courts there,” he explained.
“We were genuinely excited about the project and committed to making it happen. However, the planning process became very prolonged and uncertain. Even though we were prepared to invest significant further sums to try and get it over the line, there ultimately were no guarantees, and commercially we had to make the decision not to continue pursuing the site,” Mr. Keohane said.
“Sara and her team at Mount Congreve were brilliant to work with throughout, but sadly it just wasn’t meant to be.
“That said, we remain fully committed to Waterford. We are currently launching two courts in Waterford City with Bohemians, and we are also developing two courts at a large secondary school in Dungarvan. So, our expansion in the county is continuing strongly with all 4 courts due to open in 4 weeks.
“There is huge demand and enthusiasm for padel in Waterford and we still see the region as a very important area for the sport going forward,” Mr. Keohane added.
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
