Plans are in place to demolish a former Carlisle tennis pavilion to prepare the way for further archaeological exploration around what has been described as a "Premier League" Roman find.

Carlisle Cricket Club is seeking permission to demolish the former pavilion associated with the tennis courts that used to be within the cricket ground.

These tennis courts are no longer in place, and the cricket club has stated to the city council that the pavilion itself is now subject to "ongoing vandalism", including "theft and arson".

There is also a concern that arson could lead to the damage of neighbouring protected trees.

But in addition to this, the cricket club has explained that there is a need to remove the former tennis pavilion to undertake a "further phase of archaeology".

This comes following a major discovery for the city in 2017, when it was discovered that underneath this area, which is close to Hadrian's Wall, there are remains of a Roman military bathhouse, dating back to the third century.

The discovery prompted a major archaeological excavation, which unearthed a trove of Roman artefacts, from jewellery and a Roman soldier's tombstone to an inscription stone praising Roman Empress, Julia Domna.

The finding was described by one archaeologist at the time as a "Premier League" level discovery.

Frank Giecco, who led the archaeological dig of the site for the firm Wardell Armstrong, explained last year: "It’s the highest status Roman find we’ve had in Carlisle and one of national significance.”

Given the size of the building, it is in fact possible, Mr Giecco explained, that this find is evidence that for a time, possibly during a military campaign north of Hadrian's Wall, the Roman imperial court was centred in Carlisle, when Emperor Septimius Severus was in Britain.

Plans are now in place for the construction of a new archaeology centre and cricket pavilion close by, following the demolition of Carlisle Cricket Club's single story "Jimmy Little Pavilion".

The new plans for the demolition of the former tennis pavilion will complement these plans, which were approved late last year.

As part of the application to the city council for permission to demolish the tennis pavilion, cricket club chairman Mike Rayson explained that once the building is demolished, further archaeological exploration can take place, "to further our knowledge of the Roman building/ Imperial Mansio which may be under this building".

Mr Rayson stressed that the former tennis pavilion has no heritage merits itself, describing it essentially as a "shed".

It is proposed that the demolition will be carried out using hand tools.

As a result, the county council's historic environment officer had no objections to the demolition taking place, given that such work would be "very unlikely" to impact on any features of archaeological significance underneath.