Tuesday August 4th 2026
Titwood Bowling Club
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Drew Sandelands
A decision on padel court plans for Pollokshields, which neighbours fear will bring excessive noise, has been delayed.
Glasgow’s planning committee will visit the Glencairn Drive site and hold a hearing before ruling on the application, as councillors want to “get a good sense” of the location.
Gancho Padel Ltd has asked Glasgow City Council for permission to create three padel courts at Titwood Bowling Club. Planners at the council recommended the scheme be approved.
But there were 79 objections to the plan, with residents believing they will be disrupted by “repetitive” noise. Only 12 letters of support were received.
Padel is a racket sport, similar to tennis, played on an enclosed court. Balls can be hit off the court walls like in squash.
Ahead of the planning meeting today (Tuesday), Cllr Jon Molyneux, Greens, who represents Pollokshields, had requested a site visit and hearing. A hearing will give both the developer and objectors an opportunity to make their case.
The proposed courts would be part of the bowling club complex, which neighbours Titwood Lawn Tennis Club and is within the West Pollokshields conservation area.
They would be erected on “disused” blaes tennis courts. A single-storey reception and changing room is also planned.
Council planners reported the proposal “would not adversely affect the continued operation of the wider club and would instead bring an underutilised area back into active recreational use”.
However, one objector said the development would be “an unsightly, noisy and unwelcome addition to the area in which I live”.
Cllr Molyneux objected as he believes the plan is “inappropriate for the setting”. “I am also concerned that the changes will result in increased noise impact,” he added. “The nature of noise with padel is sharp and repetitive and will have adverse amenity impacts as a result.”
Planning officials said an acoustic assessment, from a “suitably qualified consultant”, concludes that, with proposed mitigation measures, noise levels “would not give rise to significant adverse impacts”.
They added floodlights, which also caused objections, would only be used during operating hours, between 8am and 10pm, and conditions could be attached to the planning permission requiring final details of design, luminance levels and column heights to “ensure that light spill, glare and sky glow are appropriately controlled”.
At the planning meeting, Cllr John Daly, Conservative, said he had received “quite convincing” representation regarding the “noise level that these padel courts may propose and how some of the sound mitigation measures may not be as robust as they might be”.
He backed a site visit to get “a feel for the place, and how sounds travels, how close the houses are”. “I think sometimes you have to be there to get a good sense of that.”
Cllr Ken Andrew, SNP, the committee chairman, said he understood the “point about trying to contextualise the site”. “I think it would be helpful to get the site in context,” he added.
A council official said the “level of weight we can apply” to noise is “extremely low because it’s in existing use”.
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