HAMPSHIRE snooker club members are celebrating after turning the tables on developers who wanted to turn their hall into flats.

London and Cambridge Properties Limited wanted to covert the Stubbington Snooker Club, one of only a few left in the county, into 10 apartments.

However, their plans were rejected at this week’s meeting of the Fareham Borough Planning Committee despite recommendation’s from planning officers to approve the development on the basis that there would be no adverse visual impact on the surrounding area.

London and Cambridge had applied to convert the first floor of the hall into six two-bed and four one-bed flats while the existing retail units below would be maintained.

The Snooker Club, which opened more than 30 years ago, currently provides 12 full-size snooker tables, six pool tables, darts and a bar and lounge.

Councillor Nick Walker, chairman of the Planning Committee said the committee made the decision based on the fact that the applicant was only offering six parking spaces for ten flats and the fact that scheme would lead to the loss of a vital community facility.

Landlady Lisa Hodgson told the Echo that she was over the moon to hear about the council’s decision.

She said: “I am absolutely ecstatic that this vital community facility has been saved, it’s a great hub that has members and users from all over the village including Meoncross School and three local dance groups.”

“We have been working hard since we brought the facility and brought it up to a top class standard.”

Club members protested on the Stubbington Green at the start of May when the plans were

originally unveiled and gained more than a thousand names on a petition opposing the development.

Regular Gareth Sanders, a 43-year-old schoolteacher from Hillhead, said: “I have been a regular here for many years and it’s become a hub of the local community and is one of the few places in Stubbington that has an old-fashioned bar.

“The developers put in the plans as it is lucrative real estate in a nice country village, but it was rejected which is fantastic news.”