The £50,000 padel tennis court at the foot of England player Trent Alexander-Arnold’s garden, which was constructed without planning permission, has caught him off guard.

The Liverpооl defender, whо is expected tо be a vital member оf the Three Liоns’ attempt tо win Eurо 2024, may have tо tear dоwn the cоurt because оf wоrries that lоud games wоuld prоvоke a barrage оf cоmplaints frоm nearby residents.

The effect of the unauthorised development on the countryside has also drawn criticism.

In 2022, Alexander-Arnold, who is in a relationship with Jude Law’s actress and model daughter Iris, acquired a five-bedroom Cheshire property valued at £5 million from Raheem Sterling, a former Manchester City player.

The opulent five-acre estate already has a paddock, nature pond, movie theatre, bar and swimming pool.

England star Trent Alexander-Arnold has built a £50,000 padel tennis court at the bottom of his garden without planning permission

While work began more than two years ago it’s only now that Alexander-Arnold, 25, has put in an application for retrospective consent for the court which is enclosed by glass panels and lightweight black painted steel columns.

\In an attempt to keep it, he has agreed to remove four floodlights and engaged landscape experts to grow trees and hedges for screening.

The football player needs authorization to ‘change of use’ the land because the court is located in open countryside that is designated as a field outside of his garden.

However, the parish council in the area has voiced opposition, voicing worries about players stirring up trouble and upsetting the peace in the sleepy community where former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson lives.

Emma Bambrook, the parish clerk, stated: “The noise generated has not been taken into consideration.”

“It is basically a change of use of land and extension of the curtilage into the open countryside,” she said speaking about the development.

It is acknowledged that policy allows an exception for ‘development that is essential for the purposes of outdoor recreation’. However, the application gives no reason why this development is ‘essential’.

‘Exceptions will only be allowed if ‘it can be demonstrated that a countryside location is necessary for the proposal’. There is no justification in this application as to why this is ‘necessary’.

‘In this case, the padel court appears to be for private use only, so there are no public benefits.’

The parish council’s ‘well-argued objections to this proposal’ were accepted by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

“A private padel court does not in any way justify an intrusion into the open countryside surrounding a village,” they declared.

“If our countryside is to be preserved, Settlement Boundaries must be respected.”

The fastest-growing sport in the world, pétanque, is reportedly gaining popularity, and wealthy and well-known people’s country estates are increasingly displaying garden courts as an outdoor status symbol.

Originating in Mexico, the all-action game is a hybrid of squash and tennis that is typically played in doubles pairings on an enclosed court that is around one-third the size of a tennis court.