City's new centre for fast-growing racquet sport

Padel is said by some to be the fastest-growing sport in the world

Plans to build a new centre in Bradford for the emerging racquet sport of padel have been approved.

Padel, whose popularity has surged in popularity in recent years, dates back to the 1960s and has similar rules to lawn tennis, but is played indoors on much smaller courts.

At a meeting earlier this week, Bradford Council gave the go-ahead to the new five-court facility at Beckside Business Park in Lidget Green, with planning officers predicting it would create some new jobs.

Councillors heard there were already padel facilities in nearby Ilkley and Rawdon, but this would be the first dedicated centre for the sport in the city of Bradford.

The five-court facility in Bradford will also have 13 parking spaces, planners are told

The planning application for the facility, which will have 13 parking spaces, was submitted by Fahad Qureshi, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Officers told the meeting: "Given the existing leisure uses within the surrounding units of the application site, it is considered the proposal would be suitable in this location."

They added: "Although the use in itself is not a typical employment-generating use, it would nevertheless create an acceptable level of employment within an employment zone."

Celebrities such as David Beckham and Eva Longoria are said to be avid fans of the sport, which is a blend of tennis and squash.

The game was invented in Mexico in 1969 and there are now said to be 30 million players across the world.

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