Young people in a Somerset coastal town will soon benefit from new sports facilities.
The Crosses Penn tennis courts, located off the B3140 Berrow Road in Burnham-on-Sea, have fallen into “disarray” and become a site of alleged drug-taking and anti-social behaviour.
The Crosses Penn Community Sports Trust wants to redevelop the site into a multi-use games area (MUGA), allowing tennis to continue as well as other sports to be played.
Sedgemoor District Council’s executive voted on Wednesday morning (June 1) to grant the trust a 25-year lease on the site, allowing it to “lever in” grant funding to make its vision a reality.
The trust wishes to replace the existing two tennis courts with two MUGAs, which would include a tennis court, a five-a-side football pitch, netball and basketball courts, along with an exercise track around the perimeter.
The new facility is designed to complement the neighbouring children’s play area, which was re-opened to the public in January 2021 following a £50,000 upgrade.
Councillor Mike Murphy, whose Burnham North ward includes the site, said the scheme would not only provide valuable sports facilities, but also tackle anti-social behaviour and drug-taking in the area.
He told the committee: “Crosses Penn is an area that has had 100 years of tennis. We are very conscious of that, but it has fallen into disarray and is only occasionally used.
“Over the years, this area has become a default area for young people to gather in the evening, and there is evidence of drug taking and drug dealing.
“Many mothers on doorsteps harangued us to do something about this, to create alternative facilities offering something to do for their children.
“We and the trust want to make a move to offer something new. Netball is the fastest growing women’s sport in Britain today, and we want to maintain tennis at Crosses Penn because it’s been there for so long.
“Something needs to be done because there is nothing in the middle of Burnham-on-Sea like this. We feel this is a vital thing to do for the long-term health of the community and young people in particular.
“There is an opportunity to brighten and dignify this area and to add to the council’s work in the nearby playground.
“This is an excellent project – it is not just a project for today, it is for the long term, to give young people and families a way forward from drugs.”
A planning application for the proposals is expected to come before the council’s development committee later in the year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here