Caterham school sports revamp plans revealed

A private school in Surrey has unveiled plans to build two covered padel courts and a new climbing wall on its grounds. But the exclusive school said it will also open the trending sports facilities to the public.

The new sports facilities would sit just north of the school’s Sports Centre on Harestone Valley Road, around a kilometre south of Caterham town centre. Both the padel courts and the climbing wall would be covered, according to the plans, making them usable in all weathers.

Planning documents state the new facilities will give pupils the chance to try modern sports beyond traditional rugby or hockey at Caterham School. The new courts and wall will offer the local community and other state schools the chance to get involved in padel and climbing outside school hours, the application reveals.

If approved, the courts and wall would be available from Monday-Thursday 9am- 9pm, Friday 9am-8pm, Saturday 9am-6pm and Sunday 10am-6pm. But the local community will have set access time in the evening (for instance, 6pm-9pm during the week) they can attend.

The project also involves reworking the existing car park. Spaces would be reduced slightly from 18 to 15 including one disabled bay by the Sports Centre. Access will be from the school’s current entrance on Harestone Lane.

To make way for the development, four trees (three maples and one sycamore) would be removed, but the school says it will replace them with six new hawthorns and boost biodiversity on the site.

The padel courts will each measure the standard size of 20m by 10m, with glass and mesh walls to keep the ball in play. The climbing wall will feature six lanes for ‘speed climbing’, a popular new Olympic sport where competitors race side by side.

Both padel and climbing are booming in popularity. According to the Lawn Tennis Association (TLA), padel is now played by more than 400,000 people in the UK, up from just 129,000 last year. Meanwhile, speed climbing is growing in demand since its first appearance in the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

The school argues the project won’t harm the Green Belt setting, as it’s within the existing Sports Centre grounds and has been designed to reduce noise and light spill for nearby homes on Harestone Lane.

Comments are welcome on the application until October 20, with Tandridge District Council due to make a decision due later this year.