Wantage Lawn Tennis Club could build the area's first padel courts and a pickleball court with £256,526 of developer money. Vale Cabinet decides on Friday.
Wantage could get its first padel courts. Vale of White Horse District Council’s Cabinet will be asked on Friday 9 October to back £256,526 for Wantage Lawn Tennis Club. The money would turn one of its tennis courts into two padel courts and a pickleball court.
The cash is not from council tax. It comes from developers who built homes in Grove, paid under Section 106 agreements for outdoor sport. That is set out in the Cabinet report published with the meeting’s agenda. Wantage is about ten miles south-west of Abingdon.
What would be built
The club sits in the Memorial Recreation Ground off Manor Road, on the southern edge of the town. It has six tennis courts and a pavilion. The plan would:
- replace one existing public tennis court
- build two outdoor padel courts, each enclosed by 4m glass and mesh rebound walls
- build one pickleball court
- extend the court area by 7 metres to the west and move two existing floodlights
The new courts would be open to club members and to “pay and play” visitors. The club’s hours are 8am to 10pm every day, and the new courts would only be used within them, according to the planning committee report.
Why the council is being asked
The report says there are no padel courts anywhere in the Wantage and Grove area. The only pickleball courts are indoor, multi-use ones at Wantage Leisure Centre. Across the whole Vale there are no dedicated pickleball courts at all.
The council’s own emerging leisure strategy update calls for at least three padel courts in the south of the district. The Lawn Tennis Association supports the scheme. It told the council padel and pickleball would bring new players into the sport and help keep the club going.
The club has about 130 adult and 100 junior members. It runs coaching, walking tennis, inclusive sessions and free taster sessions at local primary schools, the report says.
Planning permission already exists. The council’s planning committee approved application P25/V0063/FUL on 16 April 2025. One neighbour spoke against it over noise and traffic. Wantage Town Council did not object. The permission has to be started within three years.
Where the money comes from
Four developments in Grove would pay for it:
| Development | S106 ref | Amount requested |
|---|---|---|
| Grove Airfield, Denchworth Road | 17V34 | £195,918.44 |
| Land west of Station Road | 14V08 | £32,389.79 |
| Land west of Station Road (A338), south of Williams | 16V67 | £23,470.19 |
| Land west of Bellinger’s Garage, Station Road | 15V16 | £4,747.58 |
The Grove Airfield pot would still have £76,319.01 left after this. The Williams site money was due to expire in January 2026. The developer has agreed to extend it by two years and let it be spent at the Wantage club.
Grove Parish Council objects
Not everyone wants the money spent in Wantage. Grove Parish Council has objected to two of the four pots, 15V16 and 17V34, the report says. It is working on its own project to build a tennis court and a padel or pickleball facility on public open space in Grove. The parish council has not made a formal funding bid.
Officers considered funding only part of the scheme, or none of it. They rejected both options because either would put the project “at serious risk of not proceeding”. They also warn that delay could push up building costs and let some contributions expire.
What happens next
Cabinet is being asked to recommend the spending to full council, which meets on Wednesday 21 October at 7pm, according to the council’s meetings calendar. If council agrees, the club would sign a funding agreement and be paid in instalments. The site is council land; the club holds a lease running to 2155.
What it means for you
- Padel players in Wantage and Grove would no longer have to travel for a court. Booking would be open to non-members on a pay and play basis.
- Grove residents may see less of the Grove Airfield sport money spent in Grove itself. You can register to speak at Cabinet by emailing democratic.services@southandvale.gov.uk by noon on the working day before.
- Neighbours on Manor Road: floodlight hours stay the same as now, under a planning condition.
For more on what is happening across the Vale, see our Wantage and Abingdon bus changes and planning news.
Have your say