Kenilworth residents have said they are "prepared to do battle" with Warwick District Council over proposed plans to rebuild the Castle Farm leisure centre.

With WDC set to make a decision on the application on September 15, the 'Castle Farm Kenilworth Neighbour Group' has raised a number of concerns about the plans.

A group spokesperson said: "The residents have been trying hard to get WDC to listen to concerns for several years.

"Meetings and consultations have been held and still residents are convinced that the plans are flawed and particularly the traffic access and parking studies are based on incorrect information."

Concerns over the parking provision have also been raised by members of Kenilworth Town Council's planning committee which is due to discuss the application tomorrow (September 9).

Residents have also criticised the lack of plans to improve the skate park and the pump track.

The spokesperson added: "The majority of people understood the need to revamp the sports facilities.

"However, there are still major concerns about the extent of development and the impact this will have, particularly retaining access to current public land and sufficient parking on site to minimise the impact on neighbouring roads.

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"The location of access roads is the key concern."

Kenilworth Wardens

Kenilworth Neighbours have also questioned why the possible move of Kenilworth Wardens Sports Club to Castle Farm has not been discussed at the same time as the sports centre application.

The main consideration, the group says, is still parking and the impact on local roads.

"Local residents feel that because both of these are large scale developments, and will be sharing the same roads and access, adding considerably to increased traffic they should be jointly considered.

"Promises were made that leisure centre 'improvement' plans and Wardens plans would be jointly considered due to the relevance of the impact of the facility development on the neighbouring area.

"Despite talk of mitigation there is still no other access proposed than through a 1960's residential estate with narrow roads some only 4.5 metres wide, that already have schools and nurseries in place with children playing, skating and cycling, fears for highway safety are paramount among residents.

"There is no public transport and cycle access is poor to this site.

"Considering the high volume of car use in Warwickshire and the current use to access the leisure centre, the provision seems wholly inadequate for the size of the development plans."

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