A Catholic social club in Walsall has been told it cannot create a smoking shelter – due to fears that its church-going customers would be too noisy.

Dozens of bars and nightclubs in the region have been granted permission to build shelters.

But bosses at St Francis Social Centre in Mill Road, Shelfield – where regular entertainment includes dominoes and darts – have been told their proposals have been thrown out by planning bosses because the shelter could become a noisy gathering hub for members and an eyesore.

The decision has shocked club steward Barrie Lee, who said police had never once been called out due to any disturbance at the club in its 50-year history.

The 64-year-old said: “We spent hundreds of pounds having drawings done and submitting this plan, just to have it turned down, which they could have told us when we first approached them.

“The reasons they gave were that it would not fit well in the street, and that it would be too noisy, but our members already have to go outside to smoke, and we have had no complaints or objections to this plan.

“It is a church club with a lot of older members. The only time we see any youngsters is when there is a wedding reception or something like that.”

Mr Lee said the committee was now planning to appeal the decision.

“We get a lot of people who use the club complaining because we don’t have a shelter and they have to stand out in the rain,” he said. “It will have an effect on bookings.”

David Elsworthy, head of planning and building control at Walsall Council, said: “The level of activity in the area during the evening would be less and, as such, any noise from the structure would travel beyond the boundary of the club and cause noise disturbance for local residents.” He said the shelter would “stand out” as a “prominent and dominant” feature.

The club, once a caretaker’s house for St Francis of Assisi School, was turned into a church club about 50 years ago. It is owned by the nearby St Francis of Assisi Church, and rent is paid to the church.