Outrage over Elswick basketball court demolition

A popular basketball court has been demolished without warning, causing outrage in the local community.

Residents in Elswick were stunned when the council sent in a digger to tear up the games area in Britannia Place, in Newcastle's West End.

Locals said failing to replace the facilities could turn the area into a "magnet for anti-social behaviour".

The council said the site would be landscaped as "accessible open space" as part of a £2m upgrade of its parks.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said local residents said youngsters had been spotted playing in the rubble.

They added several groups had turned up to play basketball only to discover the regular court was no longer there.

They demanded to know why they were not consulted over the plans and why it happened at the start of the school holidays.

Resident Vivienne Horseman said everyone was "just in shock" and there was "nothing wrong" with the court that meant it needed removing.

She added: "I don't know why they are grassing it over, there is plenty of grass there already.

"Young people need something to do and taking this away makes no sense, it just invites trouble.

"I'm just stunned by the whole thing - we all are."

Newcastle City Council said there was a £2m project to upgrade every play park in the city, and for some that would mean having equipment removed and being grassed over to create "natural play space".

A spokesperson for the council said: "Britannia Place is one of a number of sites in Elswick that is to benefit from this investment, with it being landscaped to provide accessible open space.

"Other multi-use games areas are still available nearby and we will be refurbishing or repairing some of them as part of this ongoing project."

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].