The courts at the former tennis club in Blackheath Park have been abandoned for the last 15 years, with the clubhouse destroyed by fire.
Now, developer V Fund hopes to repurpose the site for padel, providing eight covered courts that would be run by Padium, which markets itself as a “premium” club.
Padel, a racket sport played on an enclosed court about a third of the size of a tennis court, is “rapidly growing” in popularity, the developer claims.
The existing site is described as being “overgrown and in poor condition”.
A planning application, which includes proposals for a new clubhouse, has been submitted to Greenwich Council.
This is not the first time that there have been plans to repurpose the site, which sits adjacent to Blackheath High School Sports Grounds, for a sport other than tennis.
In 2018, permission was granted for the site to become the new home of the existing Bowls club in Blackheath Park.
However, work never began on the project, as a corresponding application to redevelop the existing Bowls club for housing was rejected.
Two years ago, a new planning application to create a bowling green at the former tennis club was submitted, but a decision is yet to be made on these proposals.
If the padel club development were given the go ahead, 17 car park spaces and 20 cycle spots would be provided at the site.
The courts would be open seven days a week, from 6am until 11pm.
Padium has an existing padel club in Canary Wharf, where courts for four players can be booked for £80 an hour.
