A six-court indoor padel club is being fitted out in an empty warehouse on Brighton Road, Coulsdon. 500 free early-bird sessions are on offer before it opens.
An indoor padel club with six courts is being fitted out in an empty warehouse on Brighton Road in Coulsdon. It will be the first London club for Pure Padel, a Manchester-based operator.
The club, called Pure Padel Croydon, is at Falcon Works on the A23. Pure Padel lists the address as 399 Brighton Road, CR5 3EA. Its page still says “Coming Soon”.
Croydon Council granted planning permission on 11 September (25/04046/FUL).
What the club will have
Pure Padel’s Croydon page lists:
- six indoor courts
- a bar and cafe
- a business lounge and meeting rooms
- changing rooms and showers
- a pro shop
- free parking and free wifi
Courts will be booked through the Playtomic app. The firm’s planning statement says its model has no membership fees, and promises weekend junior sessions, women-only sessions and sessions for older players (planning statement).
The planning statement puts the building at about 2,318 square metres, with 16 car parking spaces, one of them accessible, and 18 cycle spaces. It says the club will employ a full-time head coach, part-time coaches and a part-time site manager.
Free sessions before it opens
The club’s Instagram account, @purepadelcroydon, said on 19 October that it is “giving away over 500 spaces” for free early-bird sessions. Sign-up is through the link on that account, or the “Get Free Early Bird Access” button on the club’s page.
When it opens
Pure Padel has not yet given an opening date. When it announced the planning approval in August, it said it was aiming to open “this November”.
The permission sets two hurdles before the doors can open (decision notice):
- A delivery and servicing plan must be approved by the council.
- The firm must sign a highways agreement with Transport for London, which runs the A23, and TfL’s required road works must be finished.
A seven-year permission
This is a temporary permission. The council granted it for seven years, after which the building must go back to warehouse use.
The council’s reason is that it allows “the beneficial use of a vacant building” while protecting the site’s long-term role as employment land. The application was advertised as a departure from the Local Plan for that reason. The firm’s agent told the council the unit had been empty for more than three years without attracting a business tenant.
What it means for you
- It is about a ten-minute walk from Coulsdon South station, according to Pure Padel, with direct trains to London Victoria and to King’s Cross St Pancras.
- Driving there, the site is on the A23, with 16 spaces in its car park.
- More Coulsdon shops and services are in our directory of local businesses in Coulsdon.
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