An outdoor bowling green on the seafront will be dug up and turned into a car park.

One of the three lawns at the North Drive site, the most popular of the council-run bowling greens, is to be removed to allow for an expanded car with 51 spaces.

Councillors voted to approve a plan put forward by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which own the site, to expand the adjacent car park to increase spaces for people wishing to visit the beach.

In a report presented to the committee members, council planning officers said that the facility was surplus to requirement and no longer commercially viable and it was added that more car parking spaces were required for visitors to the seafront.

A study found that the number of bookings for the green had fallen from 3,535 in 2008 to 2,346 in 2010. The officer’s report went on to say that the capacity could be absorbed by the remained two bowling greens.

It was also stated they did not believe the scheme was unsympathetic to the wider conservation area given the built-up nature of the seafront and said given that the bowling greens were sunken below road level, the visual impact would be mitigated.

Cllr Kay Grey, who voted against the proposals, said: “Have we got a problem with bowls in this area? We seem to be demolishing everything in the town.” Chairman of the Development Control Committee, Cllr Charles Reynolds, said: “It is always difficult as it is mum and dad who want to get as close to the action on the seafront. Sadly car is king.”

Ten letters objecting to the proposals were sent to the council, with the main concern being the loss of the bowling green and whether more parking spaces were really needed.