Modification 26 to allocate Land at Warwick Road for the provision of outdoor sport (Policy DS NEW4 SP2) is supported.

Paragraph 81 of the National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to plan positively to enhance the beneficial use of the Green Belt. One of the beneficial uses referred to in the Framework is the provision of opportunities for outdoor sport and recreation. Policy DS NEW4 is, therefore, consistent with the Framework.

The Warwick Road site is well suited to a range of formal and informal sporting uses and is accessible to the existing and future residents of Kenilworth and its hinterland.

The reason for Policy DS NEW4 is to enable sports clubs in Kenilworth to grow in the context of new and previously proposed housing allocations. The need for land suitable for outdoor sport is evidenced in the Playing Pitch Strategy (November 2014) and usefully highlights the issues affecting clubs such as Kenilworth RUFC, Kenilworth Wardens CC and Kenilworth Town CC. Many of the clubs have facilities which are in need of enhancement (including matters such as inadequate numbers and quality of pitches, poor drainage and club houses/changing rooms in need of significant improvement) and limited capacity on their existing sites to expand the facilities to meet future aspirations.

The Council are proposing to consolidate Kenilworth's sports facilities in a new Sports hub at Castle Farm to the west and a smaller hub to the south at Warwick Road. The allocation to the east of Warwick Road (SP2) is well located as a sports hub, complementary to the hub at Castle Farm, being accessible to residents of Kenilworth and visiting teams by virtue of its access to the strategic road network, rail station and bus services.

The sports use of land to the south of H41 will create a natural transition from the built edge of Kenilworth to the wider countryside, creating a soft edge to the town. The openness of the Green Belt would be maintained while maximising its beneficial use for the residents of Kenilworth.

A dedicated access to the site off Warwick Road would be more conducive to maximising the layout and function of the sports facilities and housing allocation H41 (see representations on DS11).