A Farnham school can use its sports pitch later into the evening after councillors claimed residents were “making a mountain out of a mole hill” with their noise complaints.

Weydon School has been trying to increase the play time on its sports pitch for years. Planning conditions from 2013 have restricted players from using the pitch outside of 9am to 8.30pm on weekdays and 9am-6pm on weekends.

On June 25, members of Surrey County Council ’s planning committee unanimously voted in favour of allowing Weydon School to stay open one extra hour later.

Planning officers recommended the scheme to be refused as the noise impact on neighbours would not outweigh the benefits of the extra usage, the report said.

But Cllr Ernest Mallett MBE accused the council of “making a mountain out of a mole hill”. He said we live in a modern age of people interacting with each other “not on a desert island”.

Officers said a “balance” needed to be struck between the benefits of sports facilities to Farnham and the noise disturbance affecting residential homes near to the school. Neighbours objected to the scheme complaining that noise from whistles, people shouting and car doors slamming meant they had to close their windows or it stops them from enjoying the garden.

But under the new approved conditions, the school can use the pitch until 9.30pm Monday to Friday. Other changes include adapting the traffic entrance to the pitches into a one-way system and allowing the floodlights to also be lit until 9.30pm.

Looking at the changing populations of Farnham with more houses going up, councillors recognised there was a growing demand in providing sporting sites.

From little kids running around, women’s only teams and over 65s walking football, supporters of the application stressed the importance of sports groups lifting up health and wellbeing in the community.

“We keep saying that young people shouldn’t be at home sitting in front of computers. They should be out in the open air enjoying themselves,” said Cllr John Robini. “I think in this day and age we have to accept some noise by young people enjoying themselves.”

Ward councillor Catherine Powell said: “There are massive waiting lists in all football clubs meaning hundreds of children unable to play the sport they love.”

She claimed other nearby school sports pitches were also allowed to be open later. “If you accept it at one school in the area then not at another- it is very difficult to justify to parents who can’t find spaces for kids at the football club,” said Cllr Powell.

The sports facilities at Weydon School were primarily for students but are also available for community use outside of school hours, a report said.

Julie Tavener, business and operations manager for the school, said: “An extra hour pitch time would make a massive difference to our scheduling and wider community access to sport.”

She explained the school generates around £1,500 a week from renting out the pitch- all of the money goes back into maintaining the sports facilities and any surplus is reinvested into the school.