The decision to lease part of the Victoria recreation ground in Canterbury so it can be turned into volleyball courts is legally unsafe, councillors were told.

A full council meeting was told that the decision by the executive to relinquish the plot to the Canterbury High School was already resolved and could not be changed.

The plan is to build a volleyball court complex on the site of old tennis courts in the corner of the rec.

But Cllr Ida Linfield said the administration should be ashamed because the recreation ground was part of the city’s heritage, left in convenant to the people.

She said the decision was legally unsafe and would be challenged.

Cllr James Flanagan said it was a travesty the people of Canterbury had not been listened to adding: “It’s no wonder the public are cynical about the political process.”

Campaigner Brian Buggins told the council that two petitions had been collected, each of 1,000 signatures, calling on the school to abandon the scheme.

He said there was clear evidence the land had been in regular use for recreational purposes by local people for more than 20 years.

But council leader John Gilbey said the decision had been made and would not be changed, adding: “Frankly, I’m proud of it.”