A planning condition that banned the use of referees’ whistles on a school’s new £700k all-weather sports pitch has been lifted.

Both PE teachers and refs at after-school club matches will now be able to blow their whistles to their hearts’ content at The Cornwallis Academy in Hubbards Lane, Boughton Monchlesea, after a decision by Maidstone council’s planning committee last night (January 16).

The “no-whistle” policy had been suggested by the school’s agent SSL when it first applied for planning permission in 2022.

It was supposed to limit noise disturbance for neighbours and was subsequently made a condition of the planning approval granted in January 2023.

It was to apply only to after-school matches when the academy leases the pitch to clubs for private matches.

But the ban was never enforced, and after complaints from neighbours about the noise, the council told the school it was in breach of its planning permission and use of the pitch had to stop.

No games have been played on it since August.

But last night, planning officer Tony Ryan said the council had been wrong to impose the condition in the first place.

He said by law, planning conditions had to be reasonable, necessary and enforceable - and this one was not, because the 3G pitch was surrounded by turf pitches on which the blowing of whistles was allowed.

Half a dozen neighbours were in the council chamber to oppose the lifting of the ban.

Addressing the committee, Salts Avenue resident Dave Sanderson said he had bought his own sound monitoring equipment and recorded noise from the matches at levels in excess of 60 decibels - far in excess of what the school had predicted would be experienced, and residents were suffering.

But the head teacher at the school, Joseph Sutton, said although it had received 127 complaints about noise when the matches were being played, 101 of them had come from the same three people.

Cllr Brian Clark (Lib Dem) said the saga had revealed “the level of failure in the planning process”.

He observed that if the school had not suggested the no-whistle policy at the start, it was “very likely that planning permission would have been refused”.

He said the council had been “completely naive” to imagine a 3G all-weather pitch with floodlights was not going to lead to a much more intensive use than a turf pitch.

Cllr Tony Harwood (Lib Dem) suggested attaching a no-whistle policy had “almost brought the council into disrepute - it was so stupid”.

But he added that 3G pitches were “undoubtedly bad neighbours” and suggested the council should have looked to require bunding with planting on the top, rather than the no-whistle policy.

Cllr Maureen Cleator (Lab) agreed, but said: “Unfortunately we have missed the boat on this one.”

Council leader Cllr Stuart Jeffery (Green) said it was “ridiculous” a whistle-ban had been imposed in the first place.

But Cllr Mike Summersgill (Green) disagreed. He noted the council’s own environmental health officer was advising against lifting the whistle-ban because of the adverse effect the noise from matches was having on neighbours, asking: “Shouldn’t we listen to our own health officer’s advice?”

As a goodwill gesture, the school offered to accept a new planning condition limiting the use of floodlighting on the pitch - and so effectively the playing of matches - to 9pm. It is currently 10pm during the week.

The offer was enthusiastically accepted by councillors and will now become a new planning condition.

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The committee voted to lift the ban by 11 votes to zero, with two abstentions.

Mr Sanderson said after the meeting: “I’m not in the slightest surprised at the council’s decision, but I am disappointed.

“Four of the grounds on which the council granted permission for this pitch in the first place have now proved false.

“Initially the school said it would be used only by those up to 16, but it is used by adults in the evening. They said it was 148m from the nearest property, but it is 60m.

“They said the noise would not exceed 49/51 decibels, but it is in the high 60s.

“And they said there would be a no-whistle policy that has now been dropped.

“The council has been duped.”

Cllr Clark said: “The reduction in playing hours till 9pm will be very welcome for a lot of neighbours.”

Mason Dadson, a spokesman for the Future Schools Trust which runs the academy, said: “We are delighted. This decision marks an important step forward in ensuring this valuable facility can once again be enjoyed by the entire community.

“At the heart of this development is our commitment to supporting local schools, enhancing the PE curriculum, and creating opportunities for youth sports participation.

“The 3G pitch will once again be a vital resource for school use and a hub for community engagement.

“We thank the planning committee for recognising the importance of this project and look forward to the next steps.”