AMBITIOUS plans to create a state-of-the-art tennis centre with a £1.8 million extension to Skipton Tennis Club have been lodged.

The application for Sandylands Sports Centre, in Engine Shed Lane, is for an extension to the tennis centre clubhouse, on a former go-kart track, to provide four indoor tennis courts. Two of them will also be used for gymnastics and netball.

The application includes extensions for the storage of sports equipment, link corridors, biomass boiler/wood pellet store and cafe and will be in addition to the five current outdoor courts. There will also be additional car parking.

Around 200,000 people visit the sports centre each year and it is the main provider of comprehensive community sport and recreational facilities in Craven.

The main funder for the project is expected to be the Lawn Tennis Association, with money coming from Transforming British Tennis Together capital funding.

It is also expected that Section 106 Agreement planning gain money, through Craven District Council, will also be available. An application is also likely to be made to Sport England’s Community Asset Fund.

Chartered planning consultant Roger Beck, who is a member of Sandylands Sports Centre said: “A tremendous anonymous donations has been received from a retired local businessman, enabling a topographical survey to be undertaken, full drawings produced and the submission of this planning application, which includes the substantial planning fee of £17,559.”

The funding applications will be submitted to the Law Tennis Association and possibly Sport England in the autumn. It is hoped the proposed development will be commenced in late 2020.

The application states the tennis centre was recognised by the LTA as the National Club of the Year in 2018 and has reached the target of more than 1,000 people playing tennis teach week. The summer camps are said to be some of the most popular in the country.

Adam Cox, tennis development coach at Skipton Tennis Centre said of the proposed new facility: "For Skipton it would be huge.

"It would provide a first-class facility for tennis development. The plan will be to make Skipton a hub for internships where other coaches from around the world can help deliver at our club programme.

"We would continue to support our local schools and work places with a very competitively priced and accessible centre."

The design and access report also states one of the tennis courts will be partly used for netball which is claimed is 'one of the fastest growing sports for women in the country'.

The interest in netball will also be further highlighted by the Netball World Championships which take place in Liverpool this year.

Another of the indoor courts will be used part-time for gymnastics enthusiasts.

Craven Gymnastics, based at Skipton Academy, is a long-established community club and has a waiting list of more than 300.

In January, Sandylands Sports Centre became a leisure centre partner in the national scheme run by British Gymnastics. As a result, in January, Craven Gymnastics started coaching sessions for reception and Stage 1 and 2 primary school children at the sports centre.

British Gymnastics has confirmed there are one million people in the country on a waiting list to undertake the sport.

The application will be determined at a later date.