Arena Padel, co-founded by former Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given and businessman Declan Fagan, had lodged planning permission for the €4 million indoor padel facility.
Kildare County Council has refused permission for a new padel centre in Kill.
The plans included nine indoor courts, changing rooms, and parking on land near Goffs.
Arena Padel, co-founded by former Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given and businessman Declan Fagan, had lodged planning permission for the €4 million indoor padel facility.
The proposed 45,000 sq. ft centre was to include nine championship-standard courts, a “bio-circuit” gym, and recovery rooms. Developers said the facility would have created 30 jobs.
But the council said the land is zoned only for horse-related use.
Under what’s called the “Equine Based Leisure Tourism and Enterprise” zoning, land there can only be used for equine industry, tourism, or business.
Officials said the padel centre breaks that rule and warned it could set “an undesirable precedent” for other non-horse projects.
A report outlining why the project was refused stated that because the project "is not an equine based development" it "would set an undesirable precedent for similar non-equine related uses on the landholding and is therefore contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."
The developer, SFW Distribution Limited, has four weeks to appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Speed Enforcement To Increase In Kildare With 21 New Camera Zones To Be Rolled Out In January
Over 400 Motorists Caught Speeding So Far Today, Including A Driver In Kilcock
Transport Minister In Discussions With Irish Rail About Extending Late-Night Trains Beyond Christmas
Bus Shelters Treated As Luxury Rather Than Standard, With 500 Kildare Bus Stops In Need Of Upgrades
Recruitment Announcements Don’t Add Up As Garda Numbers Stagnant In Kildare South, Says Local TD
Court Orders Demolition Of 29 Unauthorised Modular Homes Built By Kildare Developer
170 People Arrested In Past Week For Driving Under Influence Of Alcohol Or Drugs
€239k For Clane Playground As Kildare Secures Funding For Just Two Projects