Bury Council has cleared indoor padel for the empty Floors To Go building on Bolton Street, the fourth padel scheme on the borough register this year. Two approved, one certified, one refused: the full record.
Bury Council has confirmed that the empty former Floors To Go building on the corner of Millett Street and Bolton Street can be used as an indoor padel court without needing planning permission. A lawful development certificate for the change from retail (Use Class E(a)) to indoor sport (Use Class E(d)) was applied for on 22 July 2026 and issued on 7 August, under reference 73461.
It is the fourth padel scheme to reach the borough’s planning register since January, and it follows a pattern that is now visible across Bury: empty sheds, shops and tyre bays are being lined up for a sport that barely existed in Britain seven years ago. Two of the four have been approved, one has been certified as lawful, and one, in Radcliffe, was refused.
The four Bury padel applications of 2026
Every entry below is taken from the council’s Public Access planning register. We have not named the individual applicants; the agents are firms and are named as recorded.
| Ref | Site | What was applied for | Received | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72767 | Unit 1, Bridgefield Street, Radcliffe, M26 2SG | Temporary change of use from warehouse to an indoor padel facility for three years, with reception, toilets and changing | 20 Jan 2026 | Approved with conditions, 20 May 2026 |
| 73059 | Unsworth Cricket and Tennis Club, Pole Lane, BL9 8QL | Five covered padel courts with a food and drink area, lighting and landscaping | 2 Apr 2026 | Approved with conditions, 15 Jul 2026 |
| 73243 | Unit 7, Globe Industrial Estate, Darbyshire Street, Radcliffe, M26 2TA | Certificate that the existing use of a former tyre shop as an indoor padel facility is lawful | 22 May 2026 | Refused, 28 Jul 2026 |
| 73461 | Former Floors To Go building, Millett Street and Bolton Street, Bury, BL9 0JA | Certificate that a change from retail to indoor padel would be lawful | 22 Jul 2026 | Lawful development, 7 Aug 2026 |
Bolton Street: what a certificate does and does not mean
The Bolton Street decision is not a planning permission, and the applicant did not need one. Since 2020 shops, gyms and indoor sports halls have all sat inside the same Use Class E, so switching a former flooring showroom to an indoor court is not “development” at all. The certificate simply puts that in writing: the register records the decision as “Lawful Development”, made under delegated powers by case officer Tom Beirne, with the application handled by Ramsbottom agent Maybern Planning and Development Ltd. The site sits in the Bury East ward (Redvales).
Because no permission was needed, there are no conditions on opening hours, noise or parking, and there was no public consultation. Any signage or external alterations to the building would still need their own consent, and none is yet on the register.
We could not find an operator’s own announcement of an opening date, so treat the timing as unknown until one is published; the certificate does not oblige anyone to build anything.
Unsworth: five covered courts at the cricket club
The largest scheme is at Unsworth Cricket and Tennis Club on Pole Lane, where full permission was granted with conditions on 15 July for five covered padel courts, described on the register as Class F2(c), with an ancillary food and drink facility with seating, lighting, landscaping and infrastructure. The agent was Manchester practice AshtonHale, and the case officer was again Tom Beirne. The site is in the Whitefield and Unsworth ward.
The council’s documents tab for this application was returning a server error when we checked on 16 August, so we have not been able to read the conditions or the officer’s report; we will add them when the portal is working. The club’s own website did not carry any padel announcement or opening date at the time of writing.
Radcliffe: one approved, one refused
Radcliffe has both ends of the story. At Unit 1, Bridgefield Street, a warehouse won a three-year temporary permission on 20 May for an indoor padel facility, with a reception, toilets and changing facilities. It was validated on 25 March, two months after it was received. Being temporary, the use will need a fresh application, or a decision to revert, before the three years are up.
At Unit 7, Globe Industrial Estate on Darbyshire Street, an application asked the council to certify that a former tyre shop was already lawfully in use as an indoor padel facility. That was refused on 28 July. A refused certificate of existing use means the council was not satisfied, on the evidence submitted, that the use was lawful; it does not by itself stop the activity or say what happens next, and the applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate or apply for permission in the ordinary way. The refusal reasons are in the decision notice, which we could not open today for the same portal fault. Both Radcliffe cases were handled by case officer Helen Pressley and both sites are in the Radcliffe East ward.
Why now
The Lawn Tennis Association, which governs padel in Britain, reported in its 2025 annual report that “padel participation doubled within the calendar year to 860,000, whilst the number of padel courts in Britain rose to over 1500”, and that participation “has since passed 1m players”. A padel court needs a fraction of the footprint of a tennis court and can be put inside an existing shed, which is why every Bury application so far has gone into an industrial unit, a former shop or a sports club car park rather than new land.
That also explains the planning route. Three of the four Bury schemes were argued as changes of use inside existing buildings, and two of those went for a certificate rather than a permission. Only Unsworth, which is building new covered courts, needed a full application.
What it means for you
- If you want to play: none of the four sites has published an opening date that we can find. Bridgefield Street has had permission since May and Unsworth since July, so those are the two to watch. We will report first-party opening announcements when they exist.
- If you live near one: the Bolton Street certificate carries no hours or noise conditions because none could legally be imposed. The Unsworth and Bridgefield Street permissions do carry conditions; ask the council’s planning team for the decision notice by quoting refs 73059 or 72767 if the portal’s documents tab is still down.
- If you own an empty unit: the Bolton Street case shows the route. A change from shop, office or gym use to indoor sport inside Class E does not need permission, and a certificate is a lighter process than a full application. A warehouse is a different use class, which is why Bridgefield Street went through a full application.
- Follow every application in the borough on our Bury planning news page, which is rebuilt from the register each week.
Sources: Bury Council Public Access planning register, application records 72767, 73059, 73243 and 73461, read on 16 August 2026; LTA annual report and accounts 2025 (published May 2026); Unsworth Cricket and Tennis Club website. Applicant names are on the register but are private individuals and are not repeated here.
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