A cricket club in Northwich is looking to further diversify into one of the world’s fastest growing sports.

Barnton Cricket club on Townfield Lane has put forward an application to Cheshire West and Chester Council for two padel courts, one of which would be constructed on the grounds of neighbouring Barnton Community Nursery and Primary School.

Padel, also called padel tennis, is a racquet sport usually played in doubles on an enclosed court.

It  has been compared to a cross between tennis and squash, where the ball can bounce off the court's glass wall or surrounding metallic mesh. It was founded in Mexico in 1969 and is considered one of the world's fastest growing sports.

Designs submitted online show one would be built in the current cricket ground next to the bowling green, and an adjacent one constructed on Barnton school grounds. Designs show the proposed courts to be 20m x 10m with lighting. They would have a galvanised steel structure with blue artificial turf.

The proposal would see the loss of three trees and 200 sq m of grassland, but 53 trees would be planted to extend the woodland of Pumphouse Nature Reserve nearby.

Established in 1880 Barnton Cricket Club currently has  1,200 members. In addition to cricket, the club also hosts squash, crown green bowls and darts matches.

With more than 30 million padel players worldwide, the game boasts a number of celebrity fans such as  David Beckham, Serena Williams and French President Emmanuel Macron. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) described it as 'the fastest-growing sport in the world' and said that at the end of 2023, there were 350 courts in Great Britain.

The plans can be viewed on the council’s planning portal under the reference number 24/03186/FUL