A DECISION to grant permission for amended plans for a sports pavilion, pitches and car park in Darlington's South Park caused uproar at Wednesday's planning committee meeting.

The meeting had to be moved to the town hall council chamber to accommodate the number of objectors who packed the public gallery.

From the outset, council officers were heckled and shouted down as they outlined their support for the proposals.

Chairman, Coun Frank Robson, struggled to keep control of the vociferous element of the objectors and threatened to clear the public gallery if they persisted.

Claims by the council development and environment director, John Buxton, that letters had been sent out to residents in Victoria Embankment and Bedford Street as part of the consultation process were met with jeers and cries of "rubbish".

Following accusations from protesters that he was lying, Mr Buxton went on to say it was not clear whether some of the letters had not left the town hall or had been lost by the Royal Mail.

Terry Collins, assistant director of environmental services, said the aim of the scheme was to improve sports facilities for young people in the town. He stressed that the pitches would only be used on Saturday and possibly Sunday mornings, with goalposts put up just before matches and removed immediately afterwards.

He later added: "We have no plans whatsoever to have matches on weekdays, but if we did, we would talk to the local people."

This prompted the question from one resident of "Why didn't you do that in the first place?"

Martin Wilson, speaking on behalf of the objectors, said the application was in direct conflict with several policies contained within the local plan. However, these claims were dismissed by planning officer Jeremy Smith as irrelevant.

Another speaker representing the protesters, Angela Barras, said: "We don't want car parking; we don't want cars in the park whatsoever. Children are not allowed to cycle in the park, so why should we have cars there?"

The final straw for many of the objectors came when one of their ward representatives, Coun Cyndi Hughes, appeared to do a U-turn and voiced her support for the plans.

She said: "People will see that this decision is a good one for the town as a whole."

Several members of the public got to their feet and accused Coun Hughes of betraying them. One asked why she had suggested they raise a petition against the proposals.

Coun Hughes added: "I have been disappointed by the content and downright rudeness of the e-mails I have received from a minority of people dealing in misinformation. I believe this has been produced by a few individuals for their own political purposes."

The ensuing vote in favour of the application was unanimous.

After the meeting, Mrs Barras said: "I am very disappointed indeed.

"The children do need these facilities - I'm not objecting to that - but I think the pavilion should be on the other side of the park."

She added: "People living in Victoria Embankment and Bedford Street are prepared to put up with the parking problems there and don't want to see cars in the South Park."