Paddock Wood Town Council [PWTC] has been trying to build the £3million multi-use facility that will include a 40-place nursery, hall, car parking, since 2014, when they first earmarked a site on the edge of Memorial Park just outside the town centre.
The plans were subject to stiff opposition by some residents who formed a protest group to block the new centre.
The Friends of Memorial Field claimed the building will deprive the area of green space used to play cricket and would cause parking issues in the town.
Over the years the campaigners have raised petitions, held and won a ‘non-binding’ local referendum, and applied to Kent County Council to designate the field a Village Green, although the application was rejected.
Sport England also objected to the plans, telling planners that the town council had ‘not demonstrated that the part of the playing field to be lost – 11 per cent of the total – is surplus to requirements’.
But last week, the planning committee at Tunbridge Wells voted to grant permission for the centre, subject to final agreement by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
The minister has to give final approval due to the objection by Sport England.
However, leader of PWTC, Meryl Flashman, told the Times: “I can 100 per cent assure you cricket will still be played on Memorial Field. We are going to ensure we get the funding for new wicket.
“We are also going to create two new tennis courts. The three courts there now have been closed for some time for safety reasons.”
She added that the centre arrives at a time of expansion for Paddock Wood, which has been earmarked for thousands of new homes in the Borough Council’s local plan.
She continued: “I am absolutely delighted that at last we have got our planning permission.
“There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes at the Town Council by both councillors and members of the public who have been involved.”
Construction should start early next year, and the centre could be open early 2022.
