The Elizabeth Centre area is a green space, basketball court and parking area adjacent to the Johnson Road recreation ground. It is bounded by trees and bushes giving a home for wildlife. The area is used by hundreds of people every week for recreation, dog walking and parking cars for junior football that would otherwise be parked roadside.
A non-strategic part of the Borough Plan aims to sell or convert this area to housing, losing important greenspace and wildlife, basketball and exercise. The adjacent recreation ground now has 4 junior football pitches recently reinstated by Bedworth Eagles Junior Football Club, who have been granted a long term lease by the council. The club has over 120 team players and 50 new young starters that are getting the multiple benefits of outside sports and team games.
The car parking area at the Elizabeth Centre site is used solely for junior football parking and grounds maintenance by the club, which provides adequate parking to keep parking off the roads and children safe. This is vital to the sustainability of the club as roadside car parking is very limited in this busy area and is strongly objected to by local residents.
The proposed major reduction in parking spaces will severely reduce the use of the football field for both training and matches, making this site unsustainable and losing valuable health benefits for local children. We, the undersigned, are opposed to the Borough Plan to turn the Elizabeth Centre site into housing, removing the green area, basketball court and car parking.
We call on Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to:
- Withdraw this non-strategic element of the Borough Plan
- Fully consult with local residents and users of the site, including Tewkesbury Drive, Johnson Road and Bedworth Eagles JFC, and jointly consider plans to make this area into a better amenity for the community
