New headquarters for Kenilworth Rugby Club gets planning approval

Members of Warwick District Council’s planning committee unanimously voted through the scheme which will see a clubhouse, car park and seven pitches created on green belt land south of the town.

The relocation follows a decision to incorporate their current Glasshouse Lane HQ Into an extensive new housing scheme.

Cllr Andrew Milton (Lib Dem, Kenilworth St John’s) spoke in favour of the application at this week’s [TUE] meeting.

He said: “The club has put forward a strong vision that creates not only a top class sporting facility for the district but also brings with it good social and wellbeing benefits and support to our local community across all age ranges.

“With any development like this, traffic is always going to be a key consideration but locating the club on the edge of the town is the right thing to do.

“It would be wrong not to mention some of the valid concerns of residents about transport infrastructure outside the site in particular maintaining the 50mph speed limit along Warwick Road. I believe this is something that the county council should be looking at further.”

Many of the objections to the plans related to the fact that access was from a busy road and Cllr Richard Dickson (Lib Dem, Kenilworth St John’s) admitted he was unaware of any other sports organisation in the district that exited out onto a 50mph road.

But any hopes of a reduction in the speed limit were quashed by Dave Pilcher, from Warwickshire County Council’s highways department, who said: “There is no justification for the reduction of that speed limit from 50mph so unfortunately it is not going to happen. It has been looked at several times through traffic management.”

Mr Pilcher added that with that in mind, the access to both the rugby club and also the neighbouring Bloor Homes development had been designed to be safe at 50mph.

Visitors to the rugby club’s main pitches and clubhouse will have to cross the Leamington to Coventry railway line which runs through the centre of the site, using one of two bridges built in 1844.

Planning officer Dan Charles explained that netting would be installed to stop rugby balls from landing on the track and alo on part of the A46 Warwick Bypass on the other side of the site.