Two new tennis courts planned for Tipperary club struggling to meet demand
A Tipperary tennis club with more than 350 members is seeking planning permission for two new courts as it struggles to meet demand.
Puckane and District Tennis Club has applied to Tipperary County Council for permission to add two new tennis courts, floodlighting and to formalise the parking arrangements on site.
The tennis club currently has more than 350 members, planning files show, with additional courts needed to keep up with demand.
“Court bookings in Puckane are high in demand all year round especially during the summer months,” the club said.
“It is expected that membership will not grow significantly as a result of the new courts. We would emphasise that the usage of a tennis court is limited to a maximum of four players (two players for singles or four players for doubles),” the club explained.
The club explained that the progression of their junior members is one of its key focuses, and said that having only two courts can make it difficult to facilitate weekly classes.
“We conduct coaching / hitting sessions with our juveniles on Sunday mornings. This is very popular with average attendance of 20 to 25 children per session.
“With two courts, it can be challenging for coaches to facilitate such numbers and noting that for monthly in-club competitions, we have to limit entries to ensure that the event can be completed within the time specified,” they said.
“Additional courts would help facilitate better management of junior coaching and events which would make it more enjoyable for the kids and keep them playing longer, which goes some way to trying to reduce youth drop off, a core policy goal of the Government’s National Sports Policy,” the club added.
The two additional courts would allow up to eight more people to play at any one time, the club said.
“This is in contrast to the expansion of other sports facilities such as the GAA, where, for example, the construction of an astroturf pitch can significantly increase patron numbers,” they added.
According to the club, adding new courts won’t lead to a large increase in people, not even during competitions.
“Competitions do attract spectators, particularly for the semi-finals and final. However, considering the modest facilities such as limited seating and the absence of a bar, there tends not to be a significant number of spectators or congregation of people after games.
“This is not expected to change dramatically as a result of the additional courts,” they said.
Parking was raised as a concern by local residents as part of previous planning applications, the club said, with this new application seeking to address that.
“The committee has sought to change the culture around parking at the tennis club,” they said.
The club said that they informed members, as well as people attending for competitions, that extra parking is available at a nearby pub, which is a two minute walk away.
“These measures were continued for all subsequent competitions in 2025 and 2026,” they added.
Tipperary County Council is due to make a decision on the application by November 24.