Peel Retail Park, Sunderland
- Client
- Soul Padel
- Location
- Sunderland
- Project size
- Nine outdoor courts with canopies and clubhouse.
- Status
- Approved
Padel Plan provided specialist planning consultancy support to Soul Padel for the development of a new nine-court padel facility on vacant land at Peel Retail Park, Washington within the city boundary of Sunderland.
The scheme comprises nine outdoor courts, eight with rain canopies for year-round play, together with a clubhouse providing reception, changing, café and ancillary facilities. Padel Plan managed the planning process and prepared the Planning, Design and Access Statement to support the full planning application. A key planning consideration was the site’s out-of-centre location and whether the proposed padel facility should be treated as a main town centre use. We therefore prepared a detailed Town Centre Sequential and Impact Assessment, assessing alternative sites within Washington and demonstrating that there were no suitable and available sequentially preferable options.
Sunderland City Council accepted the findings of our assessment, concluding that there were no suitable alternative sites within the designated centres and that the proposal would not have a detrimental effect on the vitality and viability of Washington Town Centre or Concord District Centre. Planning permission was subsequently approved in April 2026, enabling Soul Padel to progress delivery of the new facility.
