A Kenilworth basketball coach has said plans to redevelop the Abbey Fields leisure centre are "not good enough" as they could leave local youngsters without free access to outdoor sports for months.

The tennis courts and basketball hoop in Abbey Fields could be out of use for up to two years, should Warwick District Council use the flat, fenced space for storage during the proposed redevelopment.

Local coach Andy Ransberry raised concerns over the "physical and mental impact" this could have for local young people.

"Right now there are obviously the plans with the Abbey Fields development, which could see the facilities out of commission for 12 maybe 24 months, as the tennis courts are likely to be used for storage," he said.

"So there is no tennis and no basketball for that period."

This is particularly significant given the impact the pandemic has had on young people, he added

"Following months of Covid, kids just want to get out and to play again and that is just going to be taken away, to me that is just not good enough to say 'well we'll just put up with it for a couple of years until it reopens'.

"To me there still needs to be a facility for young people to play."

Should the single hoop at Abbey Fields be inaccessible, the other options for basketball in Kenilworth would be the "inadequate" multi-purpose court at the Kenilworth Centre, the single hoop at the Leycester Road park, or to hire a court space at Kenilworth School.

Booking a court or travelling to Warwick or Leamington to play in the park would be "prohibitively expensive for most kids" says Andy.

Kenilworth Town Council has also raised concerns that the Abbey Fields redevelopment could impact not just the tennis courts and play area, but also annual events such as the Boxing Day Ducks Race.

WDC has previously indicated that should an application be approved, demolition could begin this September, with the new pool hoped to open in December 2022.

Short-sighted plans

With a planning application yet to be approved, Andy has also criticised the council for not including any improvements to the outdoor facilities in the plans.

"Basketball is getting more and more popular, with more and more kids getting involved in it, not just in teams but also for fun and for exercise," he said.

"Also with Kenilworth, they're planning to build a lot more houses. We need more facilities not less.

"They need to put in a real court, and Abbey Fields is the right place for that, it could be next to the tennis court, get funding from Basketball England and not let the building impact on it."

Andy said that this could be done quickly, before the new swimming pools are built, to ensure that the court is available throughout the possible building works.

"Why wait 18 months and then think about it, and then take another six months? It is just the wrong way of going about it.

"If we want our kids to grow up to be healthy, physically and mentally then we need to provide them something that is positive."

Kids don't have a voice

Andy also said that the Kenilworth teenagers he coaches felt as if they "didn't have a voice" to raise their concerns, which is what prompted him to contact the district council.

"The kids don't really have a voice, and they know that they don't. If this was something for adults, it would be done."

Warwick District Council has been approached for comment.