Plans to build a new children's play area in Looe are under threat after a meeting to discuss the matter was scrapped by the town council.

The Mums of Looe group has been campaigning to build a picnic and play area on the Wooldown but many say the open green space should be left alone.

The plans have been a major talking point in the town and many people were expected to attend the meeting on July 1, arranged by the town council.

But, in a statement, this week the council confirmed there would no longer be a meeting.

A council spokeswoman said: 'The proposal by the Mums of Looe for the Wooldown that is generating so much interest in the town received a major setback when Looe Town Council made public the results of the residents survey that it was asked to undertake to try and gauge an opinion on how the town residents would like to see Wooldown area used in the future.

'At the closing date (June 21) town clerk Mrs Frith has received 743 completed questionnaires and a staggering 97 per cent of those returned voted to keep the area as it is now.

'The outcome of the survey was so conclusive, that the town council has taken the view that an open meeting to discuss the results would not be fair to either party and, therefore, the decision has been taken to cancel the open meeting originally planned for July 1. Instead, the town council will make the results of the survey available to East Looe Town Trust so that the trustees can now make an informed decision on the best way forward for all town residents.'

Some people in the town are disappointed the meeting has been cancelled.

'There were a lot of people planning on going to the meeting and a lot of people don't know it isn't happening anymore,' said Kathrina Ring, founder of Mums of Looe.

'It was a great opportunity as the Mum's of Looe would have been there as well as Looe Town Council, so people would get both perspectives.

'At this moment in time, Mums of Looe has 241 questionnaires returned, and there are more to follow, of which 93 per cent are clearly showing in favour of the children's play area on the Wooldown.

'Our questionnaires carry a full 12 questions and are very informative and when returned have been individually handwritten and in some cases signed.'

A group relaunched in May to try to preserve the Wooldown and which now has more than 500 members has welcomed the news that the meeting has been cancelled.

The membership secretary for the Friends of the Wooldown, Penny Sykes, said: 'We did not ask for this survey but we are delighted to learn that in fact more than 700 people have indicated in the survey that this is their view, with only a tiny minority in favour of change.'

Derek Spooner, spokesman for Friends of the Wooldown, added: 'This result sends out an extremely clear and emphatic message from the Looe community to the East Looe Town Trust that any plans to change the Wooldown should be rejected.'

Following the results of the council's survey, the Friends group has written to East Looe Town Trust asking it to make a decision on the proposed project.

The Cornish Times carried out it own poll which when concluded was 58 per cent in favour of the children's play area and 42 per cent against. A total of 3,812 votes were recorded.