In England, a farmer swaps his potatoes for padel courts

Our colleagues from the BBC recently reported an unusual story from the north of England, more precisely from Yorkshire , a rural region located between the British east coast and the Pennines. It is there, near the village of Sutton-on-the-Forest , that the farmer Callum Stark decided to transform a former potato storage warehouse into two tennis courts indoor paddle .

At the head of 1 hectares of farmland, he made this choice in the face of the continuous fall in the price of his crops.
“We simply weren’t being paid enough for potatoes,” he explains. Realizing that the income no longer compensated for the risks associated with growing potatoes, he decided to repurpose an unused building for the growing racket sport.

A profitable bet from the first year

The investment to build the two indoor courts was, he said, comparable to the cost of a piece of agricultural machinery such as a “destoner” used to separate stones and debris after harvesting. But unlike the equipment, which loses value as soon as it is put into use, the courts should pay for itself in less than a year .

The success was immediate: slots were reserved from 7 a.m. to 23 p.m., with customers who, for the moment, have been completely respectful of the facilities.

Padel seduces the English countryside

Still relatively new in the United Kingdom - around 800 courts have been identified, compared to 33 in Spain - padel is attractive due to its accessibility and friendly atmosphere. Padel Farm York , which also offers classes, is now the premier indoor venue in the York region.

For Callum Stark, it's an example for other farmers to follow:

“We don't always realize the potential we have on our farms. People love coming to the countryside. Renting a shed, creating a leisure space... the possibilities are there.”

On this Yorkshire farm, the little yellow bale is now proving more lucrative than a field of potatoes.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.