Community sports facilities in Llandaff Fields are set to be transformed, with a new Padel Tennis centre, new café and community space, the resurfacing of the tennis courts, the development of a community tennis facility for all ages and abilities, the installation of cricket practice nets and, subject to funding, a new permanent clubhouse for Llandaff Cricket Club.
Cardiff Council are in the process of drawing up lease arrangements with the cricket club, Tennis Wales and Padeltastic Ltd following an ‘expressions of interest’ exercise aimed at securing investment in the existing facilities, bringing new recreational and sporting opportunities to the area and helping to unlock new funding opportunities.
Padel Tennis is an exciting combination of squash and tennis, played on enclosed courts with no overarm serves, making the game easy to learn and resulting in thrilling rallies.
Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, said: “Together, the exciting plans put forward by Llandaff Cricket Club, Tennis Wales and Padeltastic deliver substantial investment in the area’s community sports facilities and will help us achieve our aims of increasing participation in physical activity.”
The plans include:
- Refurbishing the redundant Bowls Pavilion and Bowling Green into a covered Padel Tennis centre, providing a café and community space.
- The resurfacing of tennis courts in the park and the introduction of online court bookings to make it easier than ever to find and book a court.
- The introduction of a community tennis coaching programme and calendar of fun recreational competitions for local people, as well as free teacher training to local schools, equipment and coaching grants and regular sessions for disabled players through the LTA Youth Schools and LTA Open Court funded programmes in the city.
- The installation of cricket practice nets.
- The demolition of the existing changing rooms and garages to provide space for the creation of a temporary clubhouse and changing facilities for Llandaff Cricket Club, with a view to a permanent clubhouse being built in the future.
Speaking about the plans, Simon Johnson, CEO of Tennis Wales, said: “We’re really pleased to see the transformation of tennis and Padel in Llandaff taking place during 2023. Tennis participation in Wales continues to rise, and ensuring we have accessible and well-maintained facilities for people to enjoy is very much part of our tennis opened up strategy. Over 160,000 people in Wales picked up a racket last year and we look forward to seeing even more people enjoying public park tennis and Padel courts this year”.
Simon Champ, Chairman of Padeltastic Ltd, said: “We are extremely excited to be working with Cardiff Council, Llandaff Cricket Club and Tennis Wales to deliver this exciting project. We look forward to bringing the excitement and fun of Padel Tennis, the UK’s fastest growing sport, to the people of Cardiff and to bringing a new energy to Llandaff Fields ”
Club Secretary of Llandaff Cricket Club, Adnan Haddadi, said: “We are hopeful that 2023 will be the year we can finally provide the much-needed facilities our members deserve and have been crying out for. Over the past 12 months, the club has been working closely with Cardiff Council to create a clear plan on how we can achieve this. The cabins will provide secure storage for our equipment, as well as changing rooms, showers and toilets. This will be a temporary solution while the club continues to work hard on a long-term pavilion. We have the necessary planning permission in place for a 4-lane cricket net facility and we are confident that these nets will be in place during the 2023 cricket season.We thank our participants for their continued patience.”
All plans are subject to any necessary planning permission being granted.
