Proposals for flood lighting at a sports club have been flatly rejected by the council – despite the majority of letters it received being in favour of the move.

Trafford Council’s planning committee voted to fully refuse the application for lighting at Urmston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club last week.

The plan had been to install 12 floodlighting columns on the three existing astroturf tennis courts at the club.

But the authority’s planning committee decided the application should be refused because its members believed “undue harm” would be caused to the residents of nearby Albany Court, blaming the levels of light emission and the prospective increased hours of noise and disturbance due to extended hours of play that would arise when the floodlights were in use.

A number of residents of Albany Court, a block of flats home to residents between the ages of 60 and 98, wrote to the council expressing their concerns about the plans.

A petition was circulated among residents which 19 people signed, objecting to the floodlights.

But a handful of Albany Court residents who had originally objected later wrote again to the council to withdraw their objections following further consultation.

Others in the block spoke openly in support of the plans.

The floodlighting was set to be the sixth step in the regeneration of the tennis club at Urmston. The previous five steps have so far increased community participation in the sport locally, as well as increased the club’s membership.

This increased membership has in turn helped to make the club more financially stable and helped to make its future more secure.

Previous improvements at the club included court resurfacing, new fencing, practice fence installation, the purchase of court maintenance machinery and work to the club’s viewing area.

The headteachers of nearby Urmston Grammar, Urmston Primary School and Flixton Girls School, along with many other residents, wrote to the council in favour of the plans, and some who had originally objected to the plans withdrew their objections on reflection.

One resident, in favour of the plans said: “I have recently been informed that the council may refuse permission. This would clearly be a retrograde step and one that would not serve the local community well.”

Another resident added: “I wanted to flag this hugely supportive response [to the plans] as it surely needs to be weighed in the balance when determining the application.”

Even Trafford Council’s own councillors wrote to the committee in favour of the proposals, including Coun Catherine Hynes and Coun Dr Karina Carter.

Coun Hynes said: “I am supportive of the proposals, as long as they don’t negatively impact the residents in the properties nearby.”

But it was not enough to persuade the council’s planning committee, and the application was fully rejected.