Pickleball plan for old Lancaster village pub bowling green

Owners at the Bay Horse Hotel in Kirkby Lonsdale Road, Arkholme want to remove the existing bowling green and create two racket sports courts with enclosures and construction of acoustic fence to part of the boundary.

Padel tennis is a court sport based on tennis and squash. It is played over a net and uses glass/perspex side panels against which tennis balls can be played.

Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis.

The Lawn Tennis Association recognises both padel tennis and pickleball as popular racket sports which are growing sports across the world and in the UK.

The long established bowling green facility next to the Bay Horse Hotel is identified as an existing sport/recreation facility by the adopted Local Plan Policy Map.

However, it has been underused in recent times, and the applicant is seeking to maintain and promote the continuing active use of the site for sport and recreation.

In a planning document it said it was envisaged the sports courts will operate alongside and in conjunction with the public house/hotel which the applicant is keen to open again commercially providing food and drink intended to act as a focus/hub for the local community.

It is understood that a bowling club did not operate from the site and that use of the bowling green was on a recreational pay and play basis.

The green area has, however, been maintained as a well-mown and managed area of grass.

The proposed development involves limited/modest physical elements relating to the court floors and the associated glazed walls and fencing.

Visually those features will be well-screened by walls, fencing and hedgerows and will not be dissimilar to what is already associated with the site.

The applicant said: “It is concluded that the proposed development would have a neutral impact on the significance and setting of the grade II listed Bay Horse Hotel and a neutral impact on the character and appearance of the Arkholme Conservation Area.”

A decision has yet to be made on the application.

View the planning application number 24/00718/FUL at https://www.lancaster.gov.uk/planning/view-applications-and-decisions