Bid to turn Calderdale Sunday school building into padel court
Plans to create a padel court in a former Sunday school building in Sowerby Bridge have been submitted.
Calderdale Council has received the request for Bolton Brow Gallery – a Grade II listed building which used to be a Sunday school.
The applicant says the building is currently underused and at risk of long-term decline.
He says installing a padel court will provide a viable, income-generating use to support ongoing maintenance of the building.
It will ensure continued public engagement with the heritage asset and prevent deterioration by securing long-term occupation – aligning with Historic England’s emphasis on active reuse as central to conservation, he argues.
The internal work will include removing plaster-boarded, stud-walled living accommodation.
The court will have a free-standing steel-framed enclosure with glass rebound walls and ball fencing, and utilise a locally-manufactured synthetic turf playing surface, glued onto a floating board base placed on the timber flooring on a protective separation layer of foam sheet.
LED sports lighting will be mounted to the freestanding court structure – not fixed to listed fabric.
Toilets will be relocated to the far south east corner of the building, says the applicant.
Existing entrances to the building will be reused.
No historic material will be removed or altered and externally the building will be unaffected.
“All interventions are reversible, designed to sit independently of walls, floors, or historic structural elements,” says a design and access statement with the application.
The main hall has been used as warehouse space for the past 20 years.
The application, number 25/01273/LBC, can be viewed and commented on on the planning portal on Calderdale Council’s website.