Plans in for padel-led Carlisle conversion

Proposals have been lodged to transform the former Vaseys furniture superstore into an indoor sports facility.

According to proposals now lodged with Cumberland Council, local business Daniel Johnston is behind the plans to breathe new life into the former furniture showroom with a destination based around the modern sports craze of padel.

Black Box Architects is working on the project.

The building sits off Lancaster Street. As set out in the planning application, both the existing use and the proposed use fall under Class E, so as change of use permission is not required – just a certificate of lawful development.

That planning application states that the aim is to create an indoor sports and leisure facility, featuring padel courts and cricket, with ancillary cafes and bars.

The site had been marketed by Walton Goodland. It sits 250m from Carlisle railway station, rear of Botchergate. Vaseys, a historic local business that had been selling furniture since the 1890s, had traded from the site for 37 years. There is parking for around 90 vehicles, accoding to those sale particulars.

Those particulars set out the square footages of the site as around 40,000 sq ft for the showroom, 13,000 sq ft of which is a first floor mezzanine. The wider complex also houses around 27,000 sq ft of warehousing and a 1,500 sq ft office.

Documents relating to the application can be found on Cumberlands planning portal (Carlisle section) with the reference 26/0261.