A disused golf club will continue to be used as a storage depot despite opposition.

Medway Council contractors Medway Norse successfully petitioned to extend their temporary permission to use the former Deangate Ridge golf club in Hoo as a base for their grounds maintenance teams.

This was despite more than 100 people writing to the council calling on them to reject the proposals.

The company - which is part-owned by the authority - currently uses the site in Dux Court Road to store its minibuses, vans, and trucks, as well as shipping containers used for storage, whilst it waits for a more permanent site to be built.

In August, councillors approved plans for a Norse base between Maidstone Road and Stoney Lane in Rochester, however, the company applied to continue using Deangate until the end of October 2023.

Members of the planning committee considered the proposal on Wednesday night.

The council's head of planning Dave Harris said whilst he realised committee members were not happy about the application for temporary use of the site the first time around, it would be a couple of years yet until the new Maidstone Road base is ready for operation.

Councillors asked whether it would be more appropriate to defer their decision so they could get more information about alternative sites which could be used in the meantime, however, this was dismissed.

Ward representative Cllr Ron Sands (Ind), said his residents consider Deangate as the Peninsula's country park, and raised concerns about the volume of traffic the site operation had generated so far.

He added: "We feel that Medway Council should be protecting and enhancing these open spaces, not downgrading them to brownfield sites."

Committee vice-chairman Cllr Chris Buckwell (Con) said: "The practical aspects are that this is a service upon which, in a sense, every household in Medway depends.

"This is a situation where the public interest is involved and the service to all of the residents of our authority is involved."

One of the conditions set by officers was the land would be restored to its former condition when the temporary use ceases.

Councillors also approved another application by Medway Norse for the continued temporary use of a building in Pier Approach Road, Gillingham, for inspection and repairs of its waste and refuse vehicles.

The golf club closed suddenly in 2018 to the shock of players and community leaders.

Head to our politics page for expert analysis and all the latest news from your politicians and councils.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway