CHURCHER'S College has won its battle not to move the all-weather sports pitch which had been built in the wrong place. The pitch was erected six metres west of its intended location in the grounds of the Ramshill- based school. But rather than making the school move the flagship facility, members of East Hampshire District Council's south planning committee agreed with planning officers' recommendations for the sports pitch to stay put. At last week's meeting, district council planning officer Lesley Wells told committee members "nothing material has changed with the application". She said the principle of development on the site had already been established by the previous permission and it was now a case of whether councillors believed the pitch not being in the original position would cause a "demonstrable harm". Janice Cotton, a Petersfield resident for 34 years, representing objecting residents from Ramshill, Shear Hill and Merryfield Road, urged the committee to reject the scheme. She said the pitch being six metres away from its original position meant it would have an "even more significant impact on the residents and the loss of amenities". She also pointed out that the noise nuisance would be "considerably worse" than stated on the original plans. She said: "We all agree there should be a balance between the community and the school, but at the moment the balance is tipped very much in favour of the school." She also called for improved padding in the goals to reduce noise and supported the planning officers' recommendations for no play on the pitch on Sundays. Mrs Cotton also requested the lights be lowered for the six months of the year when they were not needed. Her comments were greeted with applause by the packed public gallery at Penns Place. Churcher's headteacher Simon Williams told the committee the pitch was "presently as far to the east as it can be". He said the pitch had not changed "in respect of its prime usage" as an area where sport was played, although he acknowledged this was now happening more than previously. Mr Williams said the lights had been adjusted to avoid further problems, along with landscaping, and padding had been put on the back of the goals to avoid noise impact. Mr Williams said he was happy to have the lights on a time-switch which the school would stick to, but said the downside of this was community sports teams such as the Petersfield Hockey Club were unable to use the facilities. He said: "At the moment there is no community use at all, which I believe is a great shame." Petersfield district councillor Brian Dutton said he did not believe the light from the pitch would be intrusive enough to keep people awake, and supported the officers recommendation for permission. District councillor Marjorie Harvey said the problem with light in the bottom of the gardens in the evening was unlikely to be a serious issue, as people were unlikely to be sitting in their gardens during the months the lights would be used. She said: "I do not feel that this is really bad." District councillor Jennifer Gray agreed, saying: "The school is doing all they can to make things better for the residents there". The all-weather pitch was originally granted permission in April last year and the state-of-the- art facility was unveiled in October. The problem first came to light in November last year when planning enforcement officers said that the sports pitch had not been built in the right place.