Controversial plans to expand City Life Church in Portsmouth are refused by city council

Church leaders had hoped to build two extensions to the City Life Church in Tangier Road, Copnor, which they said would improve its facilities and make it more accessible. But Portsmouth City Council's planning committee backed concerns raised by people living nearby and voted to reject the scheme.

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City council leader, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, proposed refusal because of the impact of parking on residents and criticised the design of the proposed new western wall, saying it was 'very poor'.

'It will just look like a huge blank wall,' he said. 'We know how to do obscured glass so that we can get light in.'

Thirty-nine people had objected to the scheme while 32 wrote to the council in support of the project, saying that the church was being 'unfairly scapegoated' for parking problems.

Designs for the extensions, which would have allowed it to build a cafe and increase the size of its halls, were revised earlier this year in a bid to address concerns – reducing the scale of the proposed cafe and altering the main entrance to the building – but councillors said changes had not done enough to address potential issues.

Additional concerns included worse parking problems in the area and issues of noise when the church holds services.

Agenda papers ahead of the meeting saw council officers recommend that the application be approved.