A Suffolk town’s new skate park has been refused despite councillors voicing their support.

The plans, put forward by Canvas Spaces, would have seen a new upgraded skate park built near Brandon’s leisure centre following the removal of the existing one.

But members of West Suffolk’s development control committee decided to refuse the plans despite voicing their support for a new and improved skate park in Brandon.

The decision was in line with the officer’s recommendations due to concerns over flooding, ecological and noise assessments.

This was because the applicant did not outline mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of flooding as the site was situated within flood zone two, and did not conduct noise, ecological, and arboricultural assessments.

There were also concerns over inaccuracies with the site plan not encompassing the entire development, such as excluding pedestrian access or connection to a highway.

These requirements were criticised by some councillors.

Councillor Andy Neal, who voted against the refusal, said flooding wasn’t a problem for the current skate park as well as other facilities in the area.

Cllr Ian Houlder, who also voted against the refusal, added: “It’s a load of hoops that somebody is putting in front of these applicants to stop them providing the town with a nice facility. It’s a little bit too pompous for my liking.

“It’s a skate park for kids to replace a skate park that is past its prime — we’re putting all these barriers up because [the applicant] hasn’t gone and got some esoteric flooding report to show us.”

However, officers pointed out that surrounding facilities, including the centre and a multi-use games area, were situated in a flood zone one, and that flood assessments were required to make sure the development would not impact the area’s ability to prevent future flooding or even make it worse.

The decision to refuse the application passed with seven votes for, four against, and two abstentions.