Four outdoor padel courts are coming to Brio Ellesmere Port after the council's Cabinet approved £750,000. A contractor will be chosen by tender next.

Four outdoor padel courts will be built at Brio Ellesmere Port, the leisure centre at Ellesmere Port Sports Village on Stanney Lane, after Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet approved £750,000 for them.

The money has been approved on an “invest to save” basis. The Cabinet report, which rounds the figure to £0.8m, says the courts will be run by Brio Leisure and paid for “by future income through specific borrowing”. In other words, the council expects court bookings to cover the cost.

What happens next

The council has already sounded out the market. The next step is a tender to appoint one contractor to take the courts through design, planning and building.

That means the courts still need planning permission, and no opening date has been given. The council has not said yet how much a court will cost to book.

Why padel

Padel mixes elements of tennis and squash and is played on an enclosed court, usually as doubles. The council calls it one of the UK’s fastest growing sports.

Councillor Adam Langan, the Cabinet member for children and young people, said: “This is an exciting investment that reflects our commitment to helping more people get active, improve their health and wellbeing, and enjoy the benefits of sport and leisure close to where they live. The funding has been approved on an invest-to-save basis. These new courts at Brio Ellesmere Port will help boost participation, encourage healthier lifestyles and support our ambition to make sport and physical activity accessible for everyone.”

He added: “Padel is a fantastic example of a sport that is easy to learn, highly social and appeals to people of all ages and abilities and we want to ensure residents across the borough have opportunities to take part.”

A busy Cabinet agenda

The courts were one of three spending decisions in the council’s mid-year finance report, alongside £0.5m for temporary housing and £1.6m for demolition at Winsford Cross. The same report forecast a £10.9m overspend this year, which is why the padel money is set up to pay for itself rather than come out of the day-to-day budget.

Brio Ellesmere Port’s address is Ellesmere Port Sports Village, Stanney Lane, Ellesmere Port, CH65 9LB (centre page).