THE hopes of Thurrock tennis players who wished that 2021 would be a year when they could say 'let there be light' have been dashed.

An application by Thurrock Lawn Tennis Club to install new floodlights on two of its three courts at its club on Montgomery Close in the heart of the Avenues residential area in Grays has been rejected by Thurrock Council.

It is the second time the club's bid to light up its courts has fallen on deaf ears. An application was rejected in 2003 and an appeal lost.

Now, 17 years later the club finds itself still in the dark following a number of objections by nearby residents.

In a statement to the council the club said: "The application seeks a more intensive sporting recreational use of Thurrock lawn Tennis Club by the provision of new LED floodlighting to two courts of an existing three court block.

"There will be little change to the appearance of the site and the floodlight columns will be of slender design with a painted dark green finish.

"The lights will be switched off when not in use and when on there will be a minimum light spillage."

However, some of the club's neighbours did not support the bid and objected to the proposal claiming the potential loss of amenity, impact of light pollution, loss of privacy, noise and disturbance resulting from not only the installation but also the extended hours of use.

The council says: "The tennis courts are in a position which is completely surrounded by residential dwellings, many of which are bungalows and share a common boundary with the application site. The nearest residential dwelling is some four metres from the boundary with the application site and other dwellings, which share a common boundary are within 20-30m of the site boundary.

"As with the previously refused scheme the columns would be obvious from surrounding dwellings and gardens and would harm the visual amenities. "Light spillage could be controlled so that floodlights would not shine directly onto dwellings and gardens, but reflection off the courts would be inevitable and some residents could find this disturbing, in contrast to the low ambient light levels during hours of darkness.

"The height and proximity of the proposed lighting columns would create significant harm to the amenity of nearby residential properties as a result of visual intrusion of the columns and glare from the lighting."

And so, for a second time, it was game, set and match to the neighbours as planning officers vetoed the application.