Plans to relocate a 143-year-old cricket club failed to find favour with Knebworth Parish Council on Monday.
At a crowded and rowdy meeting in Knebworth Village Hall, residents again spoke out about their reasons for opposing the £5m, three-pitch development on Jubilee Fields lodged by Knebworth Cricket Club.
One resident branded the plans for a clubhouse “a glass monstrosity” and others raised concerns about road safety and out of season activities.
A spokesman from the club said not supporting the plans could lead to the “potential demise” of the historic club.
When asked why people had taken against the plans, Chris Johnson, club chairman, said: “Nobody likes change.”
The council opposed the plans in their current form because of “the drainage and [the] clubhouse [is] out of keeping with the conservation area”.
Councillor John Bantick said: “I think it is an awful building, out of keeping with the rest of the village and should be scrapped and started again.”
Seven councillors agreed with a motion not to support the plan, one abstained and one objected to it.
The application will now be decided by North Herts District Council later this month.
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