A last-ditch petition to save a popular outdoor activity park has been signed by 2,000 people.

Action Park, off the A127 in Wickford, has been told it must close in May after a longrunning battle with planning authorities.

An enforcement notice was issued by Basildon Council when it was discovered the centre had been operating without planning permission for seven years.

Council bosses have been accused of double standards for demanding Action Park’s closure while proposals for major development on green belt land are put forward elsewhere in the borough.

Action Park’s owner argued the site benefits the community and supports education programmes, but a Government inspector sided with the council at a planning inquiry.

The centre has now been told it must shut its doors by May 13.

Council officers took action after residents near the park, at Bonville Farm, registered complaints.

An online petition calling on Basildon Council to keep Action Park open has been signed by 2,000 people within a week.

Manager Marie Martin said: “We have addressed noise complaints and we wanted to get things landscaped with bushes and trees, but we couldn’t get permission.

“We don’t feel the council recognises the need for one of these places in the area and we are trying to get that across to them.

“Thousands of people come from all over the place to use the site and we put money back into the community by doing charity work.”

The centre, which offers rallying, archery, an army assault course, clay pigeon shooting and paintball, hosts special needs education groups and is regularly used by Essex County Council.

When the planning inspectorate decision was announced, a council spokesman said: “Action Park introduced numerous incongruous and visually obtrusive features into an otherwise rural landscape to the detriment of the green belt to the east of the borough.

“The council was also concerned that driving motocross bikes, quad bikes and other off-road vehicles generated unacceptable noise and disturbance to nearby residents.”

Ms Martin is frustrated by Basildon Council’s stance while consultations take place on development on green belt land elsewhere, such as the proposed Dunton Garden Suburb.

She said: “A lot of things are being built on the green belt in Basildon, but we are not building houses and causing no harm.”