A local councillor has called for action over "dangerous" parking around the new Castle Farm Leisure Centre in Kenilworth.

Cllr Richard Dickson has called on colleagues at Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council to address to lack of parking at the new facility, which is forcing motorists to park on the surrounding roads and verges.

The issue of parking was raised when planning permission was granted for the Castle Farm redevelopment in September 2021, with locals claiming the site would have a huge impact on the surrounding houses.

'Castle Farm Kenilworth Neighbour Group' said at the time the parking surveys were based on inaccurate information and said the new facility was "wholly inadequate" for the amount of traffic.

Concerns around parking were raised before planning permission was granted for the new leisure centre (image via Cllr Richard Dickson)

And now, nearly a year after the centre opened for the first time, residents and councillors have said the concerns have become reality.

"It's great that lots of people are taking exercise at Castle Farm, but yet again there were problems parking in the Castle Farm area this morning," an email from Cllr Dickson to the two local authorities said.

"The carpark is simply not big enough for the usage of the centre and the football pitches on a Saturday morning.

"As a result there is dangerous parking on double yellow lines and grass verges in Fishponds Road.

Cllr Dickson said the car park overflowing is becoming an 'all too frequent occurrence' (image via Cllr Richard Dickson)

"The problem is greatest at 9:30am and starts to reduce at 11:30am when football has finished (today there was also a small group of ramblers meeting there and there's a badminton competition this afternoon whilst the gym was relatively quiet and there didn't appear to be any Scouts & Guides or pétanque activity)."

The Liberal Democrat councillor has asked for council officers to meet to discuss the issue and find a solution to the "all too frequent occurrence".

Nub News approached Warwickshire County Council for comment on the parking on the surrounding roads.

A council spokesperson said: "For a Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) to issue a Penalty Charge Notice to a vehicle parked on double yellow lines, they must first observe the vehicle for five minutes to see if loading/unloading is taking place (which is permitted on double yellow lines) and also check the vehicle is not displaying a valid disabled persons Blue Badge (which permits parking on double yellow lines for up to three hours). 

"Often (particularly where vehicles are stopping to use shops and nearby services), the vehicle owner will see the CEO carrying out their observations and remove their vehicle before a PCN can be issued. 

"We would encourage people to use our online reporting system to alert us to instances when someone has parked in contravention of the parking restrictions as this will alert us to any issues and resource-permitting, this can then be investigated further. 

"If there are no parking restrictions and the vehicle is causing an obstruction on the highway, this should be reported to Warwickshire Police."

Nub News has approached Warwick District Council for comment.

Cllr Dickson has asked for a meeting with council officers (image via Cllr Richard Dickson)

The problem is said to be worst over the weekends (image via Cllr Richard Dickson)