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A rugby club’s bid to move to its first permanent home as part of a controversial development has been put on hold.
The proposals for Sittingbourne Rugby Club, in partnership with Quinn Estates, to build new sports facilities on Wises Lane have been deferred by Swale council’s planning committee.
Included in the plans are two state-of-the-art rugby pitches alongside a multi-storey clubhouse.
Councillors decided to push back a decision on the application at a meeting on Thursday, August 17, with 12 members of the planning committee being in favour of the deferral while two opposed the delay.
The grounds for the deferral were based on concerns about the number of car parking spaces and toilets, lighting and the access to the site.
Also included in the reasons for the deferral was the design of the community hub which Cllr Simon Clark (Lab) likened to something a child could have drawn and was not in keeping with the village.
He said: “A five-year-old with an Etch A Sketch and a pack of crayons could have designed something better than that. It’s absolutely hideous.”
Cllr Clark also raised concerns that only three toilets were included, which he said was “nowhere near enough” and would cause “queues out of the clubhouse.”
Despite floodlighting not being part of the plans that were up for debate at the meeting, Cllr Tony Winckless (Lab) said the club would need floodlights during the winter months.
The application is unlikely to return to the committee before October.
Outline plans for the Applegate Park development were approved in August 2021 following a high-profile planning appeal, which included homes, a primary school, shop and rugby clubhouse with three sports pitches.
The blueprints, for fields measuring 3.76 hectares, include a two-storey club building with six changing rooms and physiotherapy space, plus a social area with a bar and kitchen that opens out onto a balcony overlooking the pitches.
To accommodate matchday attendance of at least 107 people, including officials, teams and spectators, 65 car spaces have been included in the proposals.
There would be two state-of-the-art sports pitches which meet both Sports England and Rugby Football Union standards.
Access would be off Cryalls Lane.
To view the plans in full click here and use the reference number 23/500263/REM.
However, the chairman of Sittingbourne Rugby Club, Roger Down, said the move away from the team’s current base, at Gore Court Cricket Club at The Grove, in Key Street, would help secure its future and allow the club to grow.
A statement from the club said: “Sittingbourne RUFC is currently located at Gore Court where it shares sporting and social/clubhouse facilities with both hockey and cricket clubs.
“This is far from ideal as the facilities are not able to accommodate the size of our playing section, especially juniors. Also, the playing areas of the club are not available to us at all times due to the maintenance and use of the cricket pitch. The club has no security of tenure at Gore Court.
“This development will provide our first-ever permanent home and enable the club to meet its current needs and invest in its future growth. It also affords us the control of our own destiny rather than being dependant on continued compromise to meet the needs of other stakeholders.”
The club added: “One of our greatest concerns is that of access to all.
“Gore Court has no facilities for access to or use by physically disadvantaged people, meaning that a number of our members and their family members are unable to join us in either rugby or social activities. This development would enable us to welcome all people to use our club.”
Borden Parish Council has opposed the plans. It said the clubhouse design was not in keeping with the rural setting, developers had underestimated the number of people who would be travelling to the facility on matchdays and feared wayward balls would end up in a nearby nature reserve.
