PLANS for a padel court at a £2.7m mansion in the Monmouthshire countryside have been approved.

The Cedars in Llanbadoc, near Usk, already boasts its own indoor swimming pool and gym along with a stable block, from which the glass-screened and wire-meshed court will be accessed.

Top Gear, Grand Tour and Smallest Cog star Richard Hammond is also hoping to put a padel court in his £2m 19th-century Georgian mansion in Llanwenarth near Abergavenny, although the discovery of protected bats there has put the the brakes on the scheme at leasr temporarily.

“Padel is a ball game which is a cross between tennis and squash,” according to the Cedars’ application, which adds: “The court is enclosed by mesh fence panels on the sides and safety glass screen at each end.

“The glass screen is used to rebound the ball during the game. The padel court will also have an all weather ‘astro turf’ water permeable playing surface.”

Built in the 1890s, the Cedars’ wings were added in the 1970s, and it has undergone modern luxury renovations and additions more recently.

According to the Lawn Tennis Association, more than one million people have played padel in the UK, which has nearly 2,000 courts listed.

The scoring comes straight from tennis, but the game is widely seen as easier to learn and more social to play.

Invented in Mexico in the 1960s, padel became hugely popular in Spanish-speaking countries like Spain and Argentina.

County council planners have now approved the application by homeowner Mr J Morgan for the padel court, which will be 10m wide and 20m long with surrounding safety glass screen fencing up to 3.9 metres high, while mesh fencing surrounding the court will be three metres high.

It will have an all-weather ‘astro turf’ permeable playing surface, and two bird nest boxes and an insect hotel will also be installed on-site in the garden to provide biodiversity.