CAMPAIGNERS have been left frustrated over plans to cut half of the indoor courts at a nearby tennis centre and replace it with a interactive obstacle course.

Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL) has updated petitioners on its final plans to revamp part of Batley Sports and Tennis Centre after considering the future of tennis at the site.

Lisa Hunter, 50, of Cleckheaton, uses the centre on a regular basis and is a member of the independent Batley ITI Tennis Club.

She told the Telegraph & Argus that KAL had decided to retain two indoor courts and resurface the four outdoor courts, making them useable in all weather.

They also want to create a TAG Active interactive obstacle course on the site of the other two indoor courts, as well as a separate entrance and cafe.

This was in a bid to bring in more money for the space, she said, adding that the whole project would cost £1.6 million and would need a loan from Kirklees Council.

Mrs Hunter, players and members of Cleckheaton Lawn Tennis Club, have mounted a petition to save tennis at the centre, which has now been signed by 1,042 people.

She said: “It’s a slap in the face and a very frustrating time.

“All it would need is a few hundred thousand spending on improving the tennis centre and paying for a development officer to bring it back up to previous levels.

“But they are prepared to spend £1.6m in order to increase footfall for the space.

“The problem that we have is that it can’t claim to be a tennis centre with only two indoor courts.

“And as a club we will have to look for a new base for training and matches as the work on the TAG Active part and on resurfacing the outdoor courts takes place.

“We can’t see how this new fad - TAG Active - will encourage people to come back again and again. It’s expensive and doesn’t seem like a repeat activity.”

Before the latest briefings, KAL said that users will be kept up-to-date on the progress of its plans.

It has also previously said any alternative provision at the centre would be dependent on an agreement to borrow the necessary funding from Kirklees Council and it was continuing to “work closely with the Lawn Tennis Association to develop an alternative proposal to retain tennis provision at the site”.

KAL declined to comment on the criticism of its latest plan.