Five-a-side football centre fights Council closure

The operators of the KikOff Kensington in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs are fighting the threat of closure by Randwick City Council.

KikOff has run five-a-side competitions seven days a week at the Kensington Bowling Club since 2011.

However, the Council recently voted unanimously for a proposal to construct a community centre, outdoor gym, a half basketball court and a car park on the fields currently used by KikOff.

While the Council originally resolved to find alternative sites to cater for the removal of Kikoff, it now wants KikOff to be out of the former bowling club site by mid-2015.

KikOff Soccer Centres Managing Director Oli Bramley states "we need ... to save our sports fields from being torn down to make way for a car park.

"There are over 900 players per week using the facility and Council has not given us an area to move our facility to."

Bramley adds "the KikOff facility meets the needs of Council's District Parks Plan of Management yet the Council are looking to remove us to make way for a community centre that offers no organised sport and limited services beyond two meeting rooms.

"(As a result) we will lose the five-a-side pitches from Kensington Park, a sporting oval that has over 100 years of sporting history."

When the Bowling Club closed in 2013, the Council negotiated with KikOff, whom the club subleased part of the site to, to keep playing on the site while options for the land were considered.

Randwick Councillors have cited noise concerns from nearby residents for not keeping a sports component in their planned development.

Bramley has begun a online campaign seeking support for the centre to remain operational.

Click here for more information on the campaign.

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