An area of Abbey Fields known as 'The Paddocks' will not be brought into open public use, the district council has said.

Residents at the most recent Kenilworth Town Assembly backed a plan to ask Warwick District Council (WDC) whether the piece of land next to Castle Road could be fully incorporated into the park.

Residents at the meeting agreed the land should have an archaeological survey completed and there were also discussions about turning it into a community orchard.

However, at the most recent Kenilworth Town Council meeting, Cllr James Kennedy read an update from WDC which has all but halted the plans.

“The Paddocks is incorporated into Abbey Fields, as set out by the Abbey Fields management plan,” the response from the district council said.

It added: “We do not agree that the Paddocks should be fully accessible to the public, we believe the Paddocks should continue with restricted access. 

“However, the council will look to organise more organised, educational wildlife walks with its partners, so there are more opportunities for the public to access it. 

“As previously stated, this is one of, if not the best hay meadows in Abbey Fields, and this has been the result of restricting access. 

“The nation has lost 97 per cent of its meadows and we do not wish to devalue another.”

WDC said it would liaise with Historic England about any archaelogical studies that may be necessary, and reiterated the need to keep the Paddocks as a meadow in its response to the proposed orchard idea.

Town councillors said they would take no further action.