The boss of Kent Speedway is threatening to pull the plug after an application to extend race times at Central Park Stadium was refused.

Swale’s planning committee voted to reject a proposal for an extra hour being tagged to the current 8.30pm curfew in place during Monday night meetings.

Club chairman Roger Cearns said moving finish times to 9.30pm or 10pm would attract more fans and top speedway stars to the venue.

But fears over noise levels causing “demonstrable and substantial harm” led to the majority of members vetoing the plan.

Mr Cearns said: “I’m very frustrated.

“I had the chance to bring an Elite team to Central Park Stadium and appear regularly on Sky TV, but that’s now been scuppered.

“For 17 years I’ve been running the stadium extremely successfully, I wonder whether it’s worth continuing?”

Kent Speedway holds 19 National League Division Three matches in the summer, attracting up to 700 fans per meeting.

The council received 44 objections when the race night extension was mooted, with 22 letters and a petition sent in support of the plan.

Swale’s environmental health manager opposed the proposal due to noise levels, which the club said did not exceed the agreed decibel limit.

Speaking after Thursday night’s planning meeting, committee chairman, Cllr Richard Barnicott, said: “Speedway is a valuable asset to the borough and we need this type of activity.

“I have some sympathy for what Mr Cearns wants, but we have a duty of care to residents as well.

“I’m not a speedway fan, but that’s not to say I don’t appreciate the value it brings to the borough.”

Mr Cearns said he needed to draw up to 1,000 fans per meeting for the club to progress.

He said dispensation was given for an extension to the 8.30pm curfew when Central Park staged a British Under-19 Speedway Championship match last Monday.

“That actually finished at 9.05pm,” he said.

“It’s not absolutely fixed in stone that if you get an extension you have to use it.”

Swale council leader, Cllr Andrew Bowles, a supporter of the scheme, said the decision was “unfortunate, but understandable”.

He said confusion over start and finish times proposed in the plan might have hindered its progress.

“I don’t think the application was particularly clear as to what was requested,” he said.

Mr Cearns said he was “seeking advice” from a consultant before deciding whether to appeal the committee’s decision.