Defeated campaigners who called for more than 200 refugees to be homed in Wycombe have labelled councillors who voted against the move “hard-hearted”.

UPDATE: Labour will continue to push for refugees in Wycombe.

Thirty-nine Wycombe District Council representatives – including 36 Conservatives, two independents and one Ukip councillor – voted against the motion to invite either 200 refugees, or 50 refugee families, to the district after a lively debate last night.

Councillors were heckled at times during the full council meeting, with more than 75 members of the public listening as a decision was made.

Each resident was wearing an item of red clothing to represent the bloodshed of the Syrians being killed abroad.

In voting against the move, councillors gave a series of reasons against welcoming the immigrants to Wycombe, including a lack of housing for residents already living in the area and a need for more key services, including health which is operated by Buckinghamshire County Council.

Wycombe 38 Degrees chairman and vice-chairman John Bajina and Glenn Abbott spoke alongside Stephanie Rybak, co-ordinator of Refugees Welcome in Wycombe, following the decision.

They said: “History will judge the morality of our Wycombe generation by this decision.

“At a time when our country is dropping bombs on Syria, can we really claim we have no moral responsibility for the welfare of those who are fleeing them?

“It is deeply depressing that our council has been so hard-hearted towards people who have been bombed out of their homes and, in many cases, seen family members killed.

“WDC has used first-world administrative issues as a pretext for refusing to help people who are dying of cold, starvation and typhoid in the camps.”

Despite Labour and East Wycombe Independent councillors making a case for others to vote for the motion, it was eventually defeated with council leader Katrina Wood admitting they faced a difficult choice.

She said: “I fully support the government’s initiative to take 20,000 people directly from the camps in Syria into this country as it deeply distresses me to see the suffering they are enduring.

“At the district council we are still working with other agencies, including the county council, the health and the police to try and understand the extent and availability of local services that may be required by these refugees.

“As an authority we are not in this alone as we are only responsible for housing, and to make any agreements without everyone’s full support would be improper and it would be immoral to offer shelter to people whom we could not adequately provide for all of their needs.

“We already know there is a lack of capacity, both in temporary accommodation and the private rented sector in Wycombe district.”

She added: “It also deeply distresses me the numbers in our own district who have nowhere to live. How fair would it be to our existing residents who have spent time moving up the waiting list, maybe finally with a home in sight, and they find themselves behind 200 refugees.

“We are working tirelessly to reduce the number of people on the housing waiting list, but it will take time and in the meantime my first responsibility is to our existing residents and I therefore cannot support this motion.”