A MALVERN private school has been told it can't build a new sports hall, swimming pool and other facilities after district councillors, rejected its plans against the recommendation of planning officers.

St James College had applied to build the sporting facilities - including a hall to hold six badminton courts, a 25-metre swimming pool, two squash courts, a gym, dance studio, physiotherapy facilities, café, changing facilities and reception areas.

The development, which would have been on the school's playing fields on Barnards Green Road, led to a flood of objections from nearby residents and the civic society, which said the design was unsuitable and it looked like an industrial building, while residents in Madresfield Road complained they would lose their sunlight due to the sheer size of the development.

The town council said it was concerned about its location adjoining Great Malvern Cemetery, saying disturbance of the land was likely to disrupt the drainage of the site and the ground water conditions in the burial ground.

There were also 27 letters from residents expressing a range of concerns from the loss of an open space to light and noise pollution.

However, planning officers had recommended approval saying the development broadly complied with the local development plan.

But councillors refused planning permission, saying it would mean the loss of part of an area of urban green space and it would harm the character of the area, including the conservation area and the backdrop of the Malvern Hills.