Safety warning at Wellesbourne's new sports centre

Youngsters in Wellesbourne are being warned not the trespass on the site of the village’s new sports centre, amid fears that they could be badly injured.

A group of young people are believed to have broken into the site on Loxley Close a number of times, scaling scaffolding on the new building to gain access.

The young people, who appear to be aged between 10-17 years old, are defying signs which read ‘danger of death’ and have even removed some of the fences from their fixings.

The sports centre is currently undergoing a £1.5 million phased redevelopment, which will eventually see a new multi-games area, tennis courts and a new sports hall built at the site.

The first phase, a £650,000 transformation of the old building into changing rooms with a gym and kitchen facilities, is progressing well, but as a working building site there are inherent dangers to those who trespass.

In response to the break-ins, Wellesbourne and Walton Parish Council are urging parents to drive home the message to their children that the site is not a safe place to play.

Cllr Anne Prior, Chairman of Wellesbourne and Walton Parish Council and Chair of the Wellesbourne Sport and Community Centre Committee said: “Residents reported what happened earlier this month after seeing young people inside the fence. I spoke to the site manager afterwards who told me that trespassers had been unbolting the fence and had even dislodged one of the breeze blocks on the top of a wall. He said it was clear that people had been coming onto the site on a number of occasions. There are safety warnings all over the place telling people not to enter, but they are being ignored.

“Obviously we contacted the neighbourhood police and they have said they will do more drive by patrols in the area, but we can’t have 24-hour surveillance.

“Building sites are dangerous places and if they are dislodging breeze blocks there is the potential for a very serious accident to occur. We want parents to push home the message how dangerous these sites are.

“As well as being dangerous, it’s disappointing when things like this happen, a lot of the money that is paying for this new facility has come from the local community and when damage is done, it is a waste of money for everyone to get that repaired. It’s an accepted fact that Wellesbourne has a real lack of sporting facilities so when this project is completed it will be great for the village.”

The area close to the sports centre has previously been the scene of anti-social behaviour with youths starting fires and littering in the area.