THE future of Holcombe Brook Sports Club has been thrown into doubt by planning chiefs who ruled it cannot relocate to green belt land.

The tennis club, which has one of the highest reputations in the country, was hoping to move from its existing site in Longsight Road and build a new facility in grazing land off Hazel Hall Lane.

A new club would have been built on the new site, featuring nine courts - five of which would be floodlit - a clubhouse, car parking, two children's courts, a practice wall and landscaping.

The club, formed in 1926, has been trying to move since 1995 so that it can provide better facilities and raise funds to avoid closure.

Bury Town Hall's Peel Room was packed with members of the club on Tuesday. Many were turned away because of the lack of space. Up to 120 letters of support had been sent to the planning office, and Sue Lawson, head coach for the club, appealed to councillors on the planning control committee to approve the application.

She said that the club had a large number of members but its facilities were inadequate and needed modernising if they were to attract more members and more money.

She also said that other sites in the south of the borough were not suitable because moving there would force many members living in Holcombe Brook, Greenmount and Ramsbottom to leave the club. But a campaigner opposed to the plans, Yvonne Griffiths, who lives close to the club, told councillors the club should not be allowed to move to green belt land. She argued there were no special circumstances for the club to be given permission to move to a site, which is the main green area between Bury, Greenmount and Ramsbottom.

She also said that if the plans were approved, it would open the door for applications from other developers.

Members were split in their views on the application. North Manor councillor Dorothy Gunther said: "This is the hardest decision I have ever had to make as a locally-elected councillor. This club is within the green belt and we must preserve the green belt. If we breach it once, it will be lost and lost forever."

Ramsbottom councillor Sheila Magnall said: "I have to weigh up the benefits to the thousands of people who are not members of the tennis club to the hundreds who are. I intend to protect the green belt and cannot support this application."

But other councillors were in favour of the club's plans. Coun Yvonne Wright said: "I understand that relocating the club several miles away is not an option and I agree with that. Just as Ramsbottom Cricket Club belongs in Ramsbottom, I feel it is obvious that Holcombe Brook Sports Club should be in Holcombe Brook.

"This club is a valuable asset to Bury." Coun Warren Flood said: "This is a successful club and it has obviously hit difficult financial times at the moment. I feel it is an acceptable use for the green belt." The application was refused by the committee, with five councillors voting in favour of the plans and seven against.

Afterwards, club secretary Tony Lawson said: "This decision has done a great disservice to sport in this area, especially for tennis and the youngsters aspiring to play tennis in the future. We feel let down by our local councillors, who have not supported the community.

"A great deal of people wanted the club to move to this new site. We are now considering what our next step will be."

* An application to build a sheltered housing scheme on the current site of the club to raise money for the move was also rejected by councillors due to inadequate parking provision in the plans.