Culcheth Sports Club on Charnock Road has become the latest Warrington venue to join the padel stampede, with plans submitted to Warrington Borough Council for three new outdoor courts.
The proposal, put forward by Ace Padel Ltd, would see the courts built on unused grassland within the club site at The Daten, tucked between the existing tennis courts, football pitches and main buildings. Two courts would sit under a lightweight Perspex canopy, while the third would remain open to the elements, which in Culcheth means it can enjoy all four seasons before lunch.
Padel, for anyone who has somehow avoided the hype, is a fast-growing racquet sport that sits somewhere between tennis and squash. It is played on a smaller court, with walls involved, which makes it energetic, sociable and just fashionable enough for people to pretend they discovered it before everyone else.
There is plenty to like here. The land is currently unused, the club already has a sporting setup, and adding another activity could bring in new members and income. The planning documents say the courts would help diversify the facilities and support the club financially, especially as operating costs have caused difficulties in recent times. Frankly, if a few Perspex-roofed courts help keep a valued village sports club going, that is not something to sniff at.
That said, residents are entitled to raise an eyebrow at the details. The scheme includes enclosure fencing, a covered canopy and low-level lighting built into the court walls for darker evenings. The documents say the lighting would be aimed only at the playing areas and would be less intrusive than the existing football pitch and tennis court lighting columns. Sensible enough on paper, but as any Culcheth resident knows, 'low-level' can mean very different things depending on whether it is shining near your back garden.
The application also includes plans for tree planting to the south of the site, intended to deliver a 10 per cent biodiversity net gain to offset the loss of grassed areas. Good. More trees are rarely a bad idea, unless they are planted with all the imagination of a supermarket car park shrubbery.
This is part of a wider trend, with other Warrington sites applying for padel courts over the past 12 months. Padel is clearly having its moment, and Culcheth Sports Club does not want to be left standing at the baseline looking confused.
The original report appeared in the Warrington Guardian under Nathan Okell, Chief Reporter, alongside the usual Public Notice Portal information and some rather curious subscriber partnership wording involving USA Today and The Herald. The actual local issue, though, is simple: three padel courts could be coming to Culcheth Sports Club, and the village will now watch how Warrington Borough Council handles the planning details.