Sports firm plans a 'lifestyle destination' in ex-DIY store

A new indoor sports centre in Preston will be based around padel and five-a-side football, the Lancashire Post can reveal.

- by Paul Faulkner

Plans for the conversion of the former B&Q store at the junction of North Road and Brookfield Street were waved through by Preston City Council, after the authority concluded formal planning approval was not required.

The proposal did not specify what type of sporting activities would be on offer, but the Post has now learned a firm called Padel Republic is behind the project.

One of the world's fastest-growing sports, padel is a crossover between tennis and squash. Several dedicated facilities for the game have already opened in Preston.