Plans for a new £2 million ‘eco-conscious’ pavilion at a popular sports club have been given the green light – despite residents’ concerns over increased traffic and noise.

Wycombe District Council’s planning committee gave Marlow Sports Club the go-ahead to build the two-storey, glass-fronted clubhouse, which will have four changing rooms as well as a bar, a café and a function room, at a meeting this week after plans were submitted almost two years ago.

The proposals caused outrage among residents in Pound Lane who were worried the external hire of the function and conference room would have a “detrimental impact on [their] quality of life”.

Speaking on behalf of objectors, Sally Stafford told the committee residents were unhappy with the “inappropriate design” and asked instead for an “inclusive clubhouse to be built in line with Sport England guidance and without the addition of the function facility and additional kitchen”.

She said: “A white PVC office block is out of character for the greenbelt site adjacent to the conservation area of historic Marlow.

“This 10.3 metres high cuboid will be clearly visible from Higginson Park and Court Garden.

“Residents are concerned about increased pressure on roadside parking emergency access and traffic flow in central Marlow.”

She also raised concerns about noise from hiring out the function room, which she said would spill over to neighbouring properties, adding the function facility was “nothing to do with external sports”.

Mrs Stafford asked the committee to reject the application in favour of “something more sympathetic to the area”.

Club chairman Martin Gray defended the inclusion of the function space, saying he hoped the building would be used by local groups as an “integral part of a community and an asset to it”.

He said: “The current associated buildings are old and in poor repair, inadequate and a complete eyesore in the middle of Marlow.

“The footprint [of the new building] is smaller than the existing building. It will be eco-friendly.

“It has not been designed to hold new, different or large functions – not weddings.”

The top floor of the building will only be used for storage.

Ward member Cllr Alex Collingwood, whose son plays for Marlow Hockey Club, criticised the internal design of the building, saying there were “deficiencies”, with no refuge spaces for disabled people and a six-person lift rather than eight-person.

But Cllr Clive Harriss said the building would “stand out and look very well in its surroundings”.

He said: “We are seeing sports clubs closing down. We have a successful club here that wants to offer more to its members to make it more attractive.

“There is so much competition in the marketplace. We only have to look at our own leisure centre [Wycombe Leisure] that we pulled down and built a new one to give a facility that people want to use.”

A proposal to refuse the application was put forward by Cllr David Johncock, which was agreed by two councillors.

Another proposal by Cllr Clive Harriss to permit it on the condition that all recreational activities would stop by 11pm, unless requested in writing by the club which would be reviewed on a case-by-case-basis, was approved by the majority of the committee.