CAMPAIGNERS have won their battle to stop a Cleveland school extending sports facilities at an ancient site.

Stockton planning committee has once again turned down a request from Yarm School for an all-weather sports pitch within its historic Friarage site.

The decision - which went against planning officers' recommendations - came after residents objected to the felling of trees, demolition of part of a listed Georgian wall and the extra noise and disturbance the development would cause for nearby homes.

Protesters were outraged at the prospect of a grassed area dating back to 1180 being eroded by a new pitch.

But Yarm School head teacher, Mr David Dunn, says the matter does not end here. After the committee vote last Friday, he said: "I am disappointed. We will now take stock and decide what to do next."

He argued that many of the trees were unhealthy and would have to be felled anyway, and that parts of the old wall were in a poor state of repair and needed to be propped up for safety.

Protesters' spokesman, Mr John Hopps, said: "If the school appeals we will fight again. This was the right decision."

An earlier application to extend existing tennis courts was rejected by the committee last month after which a second scheme was submitted for a smaller pitch.

This would have meant fewer trees being felled and more distance between the sports facilities and homes in Goose Pastures.

The school wanted to get the work done during the summer holidays so pupils could enjoy the pitch from the start of the new school year in September.

The committee vice-chairman, Coun Dick Cains, said: "They have removed one tennis court, that is all. Members are violently opposed to the removal of trees and the wall."

Coun Stephen Walmsley said: "Nothing has really changed with the new application. It is a nonsense."

Coun Win Hodgson said Yarm School had not made any gestures on the issue.

Mr Hopps said green space within the Friarage was among the oldest in the region, dating from the time of the Black Friars. He said many people in Yarm had been unaware of the scheme.

"If they had, there would have been even more of an outcry," he said.

The revised scheme was backed by Yarm Town Council and ward members of Stockton council.

The town council chairman, Coun Gwen Porter, said: "As far as I can see, work being done at the school is being done in a sympathetic way."

Ward Coun Marjorie Simpson said the scheme could have cleared the way for solving the problem of traffic congestion around the school by creating space for buses and other vehicles to pull in.

She asked for the project to be viewed as part of an overall improvement programme for Yarm School.

Mr Dunn said the school was not riding roughshod over an historic site.

"The area already exists for recreational use," he said, "and we have taken expert advice so our plans can fit in with the ancient nature of the site."

"We have also pledged to plant a new tree for every one lost."

He said traffic problems were not linked to the pitch scheme.

"We have an unfair reputation on traffic," he said. "There is congestion around any school morning and afternoon."

Mr Dunn added: "We are determined the school will continue with its programme of providing the very best facilities. The school was looking forward to and excited by the pitch project, and it is a great shame it cannot now go ahead."

Mr Dunn added that Yarm School was widely thought to give great care to the ancient buildings and grounds it inherited when the school was founded 22 years ago, winning a national award for its renovation of the Friarage.

"We have done a lot of sympathetic renovation," he said. "We do care about the site."

Mr Hopps said: "We are relieved at this decision. The walled garden is one of the finest in England and there are some fine specimens of trees.

"This is a good result for Yarm."