The Glitter of Padel and Social Inequality in Jakarta Society

The Glitter of Padel and Social Inequality in Jakarta Society

Deni’s (55) life and that of his family changed after a Fourth Wall padel court appeared on Jalan Haji Nawi Raya, Cilandak District, South Jakarta. The padel court building is directly adjacent to Deni’s house wall. Incessant noise from early morning until late night has become the primary source of disturbance, making his family uncomfortable.

The location of the court, directly abutting residents’ homes, has triggered noise pollution that disturbs the peace and health of Deni’s family and neighbouring residents. “It starts around 06:00 until midnight. That’s when it operates and it’s incredibly noisy. You can hear the ball bouncing, not to mention the shouting,” Deni said at his home in Cilandak, South Jakarta on Tuesday, 24 February.

Deni said the noise terror from the padel court is exacerbated by the building’s construction design, which he considers unsuitable for a residential area. He contends that the materials used actually create acoustic resonance that penetrates to the rear of his house.

“There’s a small child here, right next to his bedroom. He’s very disturbed. There’s also an elderly woman. The noise prevents her from sleeping, and her blood pressure rises as a result,” he said.

The night, which should be a time for Deni and his family and neighbouring residents to rest, has instead become a moment that causes stress and prevents peaceful sleep.

Facing this situation, residents have not remained passive. They have collected sound recordings and videos as evidence in their struggle for the right to a quiet environment, culminating in mediation with the padel court operators. Deni has repeatedly confronted court renters and recorded noise levels as evidence.

According to him, following mediation, Fourth Wall padel’s operating hours changed. However, this adjustment has not reduced the noise levels.

It appears the padel court activity is affecting not only neighbours whose walls are adjacent to the facility. Offices located beyond the court’s outer perimeter have also felt the impact of the facility’s allegedly inadequate and unsafe design. Kia (23), an office worker located directly behind the padel area, highlighted not only the noise issue but also incidents of balls frequently leaving the court.

“My office is behind the padel court. We often find several balls that have escaped from the padel court,” Kia said.

Deni said residents are still awaiting further good faith action and permanent solutions from the operators. According to him, reducing operating hours does not address the root problem: the absence of soundproofing structures and violations of maximum decibel limits in residential areas.

“If you ask me, if possible, just don’t operate it in a residential neighbourhood. That’s the point. If it must operate, then change the building structure. Use sound dampening or something like that,” he said.

Residents Win Court Case at the State Administrative Court

Similar to residents on Haji Nawi Street in Cilandak, residents in a residential development in Pulomas, Kayu Putih, Pulogadung, East Jakarta, are also anxious about the padel court there.

A plot of land formerly occupied by two residential units has been converted into a commercial padel court operating in the middle of the residential area. Initially, local residents had no suspicions about the development project on the land.

Tohir, one of affected resident whose house is not far from the padel court, explained that the project replacing two residential units was initially claimed to be a private, enclosed sports facility.

“That’s why no residents protested at the time. Including me, I didn’t protest either,” said Tohir, outside Star Padel in Pulomas, East Jakarta on Tuesday, 24 February.

Residents were shocked when the padel court officially opened to the public and began operating from 06:00 to 22:00 WIB from November 2024.

Since then, streams of visitor vehicles have filled the residential streets, which have only a one-way system.

“The commotion isn’t just from the court itself, but from vehicles coming and going. This area is one-way, so you can imagine cars entering and leaving pass directly in front of residents’ homes,” said Tohir.

Various mediation attempts with the padel court owner have been made by the majority of objecting residents. However, the agreements reached seem to be merely empty promises.

“We’ve had meetings, but there were no results. Sometimes agreements are made but they’re not honoured. Promises without action,” he continued.

The impact of this land-use change has also been felt by another resident, Muthia. According to her, the sound of ball strikes and players’ shouts heard continuously deprives residents of peace in their own homes and even affects the health of residents, particularly elderly residents.

“Let alone the elderly, even I’m stressed. In our home every day we hear people shouting, every day we hear ball strikes. How can we not be stressed? Maybe if it happened occasionally, once a day, that might be acceptable. But this is almost every minute,” said Muthia.

Growing resident concerns have received serious attention from the head of Neighbourhood Unit (RT) 05/Neighbourhood Association (RW) 013, Nelson Laurens. He confirmed indications of regulatory violations, with suspicions that the operators manipulated permit documents during the initial facility development stage.

“The permit wasn’t held by them because at that time the Citata management around June or July 2024 was processing the paperwork but there was no permit yet. When the Padel court asked me for a permit, they allegedly manipulated the letter by claiming it was for electrical installation repairs,” said Nelson.