JUST PADEl blackpool
Just Padel Blackpool marks a significant milestone for sport and leisure provision in Blackpool, bringing the town’s first indoor padel tennis facility to life. The project was designed and delivered in partnership between Just Padel, the North West’s leading indoor padel operator, and Studio FRI, a Preston-based architectural practice recognised as a leader in design and planning consultancy across Lancashire and the North West.
Located at Unit 1C, Squires Gate Industrial Estate, within the strategically important Blackpool Enterprise Zone, this ambitious development transformed a vacant industrial building into a modern, fully serviced padel and leisure hub. Featuring six premium indoor padel courts, high-quality changing and shower facilities, and a first-floor viewing area, Just Padel Blackpool has introduced a dynamic, year-round sports venue to the Fylde Coast for the very first time.
This project followed the success of Just Padel’s flagship facility in Preston and represents a key part of the brand’s expansion into major towns and cities across the North West. By delivering Blackpool’s first indoor padel centre, the scheme set a new benchmark for urban leisure regeneration in the area.
Securing Approval Against Policy: A Landmark Planning Success for Studio FRI
The location of the Blackpool facility presented unique planning challenges. The site is positioned within the Blackpool Enterprise Zone, a designated strategic employment area where council policy strongly resists non-industrial uses such as leisure. Delivering this project meant overcoming significant planning obstacles, with the proposal directly conflicting with Blackpool Council’s adopted Local Plan and employment land protection policies.
Studio FRI led the planning strategy, preparing a compelling justification that demonstrated how the development would deliver substantial regeneration benefits to Blackpool. By bringing a vacant site back into active use, improving the local environment, providing inclusive health and wellbeing opportunities, and supporting the growth of a unique sporting activity in the area, we clearly demonstrated the positive community impact of the proposal.
Following intensive consultation, a formal departure from the development plan was secured, with Blackpool Council approving the scheme on a temporary seven-year basis. The scheme was publicised through statutory press and site notices due to its policy departure, underlining its significance within the wider Blackpool regeneration context. This approval represents a key success story in overcoming restrictive planning policies through strategic advocacy and design excellence.
Studio FRI: Complete Architectural and Planning Services for Just Padel Blackpool
From the earliest stages, Studio FRI provided a comprehensive service covering both planning consultancy and architectural design for Just Padel Blackpool. We undertook initial site feasibility assessments, guided the client through the site selection process, and led on all planning and design matters. This included producing detailed planning statements, a robust transport statement, and managing the change of use application from industrial use (B2/B8) to indoor leisure use (E(d)).
Our services extended beyond planning documentation. Studio FRI produced high-quality architectural designs tailored to Just Padel’s operational model, ensuring the facility met both functional and brand-led design goals. We worked proactively with Blackpool Council planning officers, managing objections and aligning the project with Blackpool’s wider goals of improving health, wellbeing, and year-round economic activity.
By delivering a turnkey solution — from planning permission to architectural delivery — Studio FRI ensure Just Padel Blackpool becomes a benchmark facility for indoor sport on the Fylde Coast.
Transforming Blackpool’s Leisure Landscape with Modern, Inclusive Design
Prior to this development, Blackpool had no dedicated indoor padel tennis facilities, despite padel being one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK. Studio FRI’s successful delivery of the project provided Blackpool with a brand-new indoor leisure destination, offering high-quality courts, year-round access, and modern amenities to local residents and visitors.
The facility’s six indoor courts are housed within a carefully repurposed industrial unit, enhanced with new changing facilities, showers, and a high-spec viewing area on the first floor. As a result, Just Padel Blackpool now operates as a dynamic social and sporting hub, encouraging more people to take part in physical activity while making effective use of previously dormant commercial space.
This project demonstrates the value of adaptive reuse in leisure architecture, creating modern facilities while respecting commercial viability and urban regeneration goals.
The successful delivery of Just Padel Blackpool is part of a wider portfolio that cements Studio FRI as one of the North West’s most trusted architecture and planning consultancies, based in Preston but delivering projects acrossLancashire, and beyond.
Our ability to secure planning permission against policy constraints, combined with our commitment to high-quality, practical design, positions us as the go-to practice for residential, commercial, and leisure developments. From sports and leisure projects like Just Padel Blackpool, to residential housing schemes, commercial redevelopments, and strategic change of use projects, Studio FRI consistently delivers success for our clients through meticulous planning and design.
Get in touch with Studio FRI today and discover why we are the North West’s number one architecture studio for unlocking value, driving regeneration, and delivering high-quality developments across residential, commercial, and leisure sectors.