Manchester approves Victoria North padel courts

Social Sports Society has been granted permission for nine courts as part of a wider complex off Peary Street within the £4bn masterplan.

As well as padel courts, seven of which will be covered, the 1.3-acre Manchester facility will provide four petanque courts, a pair of flexible multi-sport courts, and a climbing wall. The venue is due to open next year.

Social Sports Society, which specialises in transforming urban spaces with proven sport and leisure concepts, is also behind plans for a trio of courts at Stockport Exchange and has additional padel venues in Birmingham and London.

Rachel Tan, Social Sport Society’s director of growth and development, added: “This venue represents our commitment to helping unlock the potential of regeneration areas, for the purpose of longer-term placemaking and serving communities with accessible gathering hubs.

“Together with our talented design team at IF_DO and our technical experts at Total Project Integration, I am confident we are creating a fresh vision in the padel industry and we couldn’t be prouder to be contributing to Manchester Victoria North’s future.”

The vacant Peary Street site is earmarked for redevelopment in a future phase of FEC’s Victoria North masterplan.

Delivering a meanwhile use on the plot is in line with the developer’s ongoing strategy to activate unused sites prior to their redevelopment.

Next to the site earmarked for padel courts is the proposed Bromley Yard, a 46,000 sq ft co-working container development similar to Pollard Yard in Ancoats.

Meanwhile, Fairfield Social Club will occupy a plot on Irk Street earmarked for a skyscraper for the next two years.

Shilpa Lakhanpal, asset manager at Found, part of FEC, said: “Bringing the incredibly popular padel to North Manchester is really exciting for us and the existing residents in the local area looking to pick up a racket and try something new.

“We’ve long had a focus on expanding our sports and activity offering to enhance the wellbeing of our resident community, so developments like this, where we can offer multiple sports in a small area, are a great addition.”

Padel is proving to be a popular choice for developers looking for meanwhile uses for their sites.

Earlier this year, Property Alliance Group announced it would build a pair of courts on part of the former Renaissance hotel site it is redeveloping. Meanwhile, Club de Padel at Deansgate Square has been up and running for several months.

Architect Holloway is leading on the design of the Peary Street scheme. Asteer Planning is also advising the applicant.

To learn more about the scheme, search for planning reference 139462/FO/2024 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.