A hotel in Falmouth has been served a blow after its plans for a tennis coaching centre near the seafront were refused.

St Michael's Resort had asked for planning permission to build on land next to the Gyllngvase Tennis Courts in Queen Mary Road, to last no more than three years.

The temporary building would have been placed on a raised deck with ramped access, and include an accessible toilet and changing area, along with a kitchenette, training room and storage.

Cornwall Council owns the four tennis courts but they are run by St Michael’s Resort, via a long lease that began in 2014, which allows them to be refurbished by the hotel.

The council had agreed to the proposed training facility, subject to planning permission - but this has not been granted.

There was uproar locally when the plans were revealed back in May, with 59 members of the public objecting to Cornwall Council.

Objections were also raised by Falmouth Bay Residents Association, who feared it could result in noise for neighbouring residents, Falmouth and Penryn Conservation Committee, which said it saw "no reason why such shipping containers need to be placed at public tennis courts which have struggled on satisfactorily for decades," and Falmouth Civic Society, which described it as "an ugly building" in the conservation area.

At the time of the application the hotel said it had employed an ex-professional player and leading coach in the UK as a full-time tennis coach, who wanted to increase community and junior tennis in the town.

The plan would be to develop a wooden lodge style clubhouse once the club was functioning.

The hotel added: "The courts have been underutilised for a number of years with the local community suffering from this."

In his report, case officer Mark Ball said the proposed container and decking would not be sited on the tennis courts themselves but outside the boundary fencing on currently unused land.

This would not adversely affect the tennis courts as a sports facility and would actually enhance the facilities available at what he described as an "important public sports facility" thanks to a training room, toilets and store.

The council's public open space officer had raised concerns over the marketing of the tennis courts as being exclusive to members of the St Michael's Hotel, but this was not a planning matter, he added.

However, Mr Ball described the appearance of the container as "by its very nature utilitarian and functional", which the hotel had confirmed could not be clad or painted because it would be on hire.

He said it would be a "prominent feature in these important public views" and the benefits of the scheme did not outweigh "significant adverse impact upon the character of the area and harm to the character and appearance of the Falmouth Conservation Area."