Cheers and applause rang out across Swindon Borough Council’s packed council chamber as members of the authority’s planning committee refused permission for a large new church to be built in Blunsdon.

Opponents of the proposal for the Plymouth Brethren Gospel Hall proposal for a green field south of Broad Bush in the village packed the public gallery, while supporters of the scheme filled most of the actual chamber and both sides enthusiastically applauded contributions to the debate.

The planning officers report had recommended the members of the committee recommended approval for the two-storey building which will be able to hold hundreds of worshippers.

There was some discussion about how many. The planning officer said it would accommodate about 400 people, while Highworth and Blunsdon ward councillor Steve Weisinger, who spoke against the plan, said it could hold around 500, while one of the objectors who spoke again the meeting Mr P Sharpe said it was designed to hold between 800 and 1200 worshippers.

Members of the Plymouth Brethren congregation spoke in favour of the plan saying it was needed for the growing number of members of the church in Swindon

One, Duncan Farr, said: ”There is a longstanding need for a place of worship for Brethren in Swindon who have been here since at least the 1860s. Increasing numbers of Plymouth Brethren live in Blunsdon, and we hope to have good relations with our neighbours.”

As part of the church’s application, a heat map had been provided suggesting that more than half of the potential users of the gospel hall would come from two miles or closer.

That was disputed by opponents. Mr Sharpe pointed out the application included a car park for 161 cars, with each space being larger by 50 centimetres than a standard parking space. He said: “These can be used by minivan carrying eight people. This is a regional centre and will be used by bussing people in from a much wider area.

Members of the committee were concerned about the impact on the residents of traffic to the new church and also its siting on a greenfield, known as the deer field, in what the council itself had designated a non-coalescence zone between Blunsdon and Kingsdown.

Pressed by committee legal advisors for a planning reason to refuse consent ‘defensible at appeal’ Coun Jake Chandler proposed the contravention of the council’s policy not to allow anything larger than minor development on the land previously cited by Coun Jane Milner-Barry.

The members voted to refuse consent by eight to four.