Members of the planning and development committee decided to defer a decision on whether plans for two leisure units, a multi-storey car park, a block of 36 flats and a golf attraction, as well as public toilets should be built on the site of the former Atlantis water pool And it left David Rhodes, boss of Benchmark Leisure, the firm behind the scheme astounded.

Mr Rhodes, the firm's managing director, who attended yesterday's meeting, said: "We have put a huge amount of work into it and I cannot understand the reasons for their decision. It was recommended for approval by officials which members have now gone against. We have been working hard with everyone to ensure that various issues were addressed."

Mr Rhodes said he will now meet officials to consider the next steps. Benchmark Leisure are still keen to build a new waterpark on the site and at yesterday's meeting Mr Rhodes indicated that if the leisure units plans were passed then he would table amendments to include a water park.

He stressed that plans before the committee were important, irrespective of what happened about a waterpark because he would then have the option of going ahead with them.

He did not consider the latest application to be controversial and that a master plan submitted to the council some years ago showed that a leisure attraction with a multi-storey car park was inseparable.

"If you want to have a major family attraction then you have to have the car parking adjacent to it," said Mr Rhodes. But committee members wanted to know more details about what leisure facilities would be provided in the two proposed buildings and there were concerns about their architectural merits.

There was also concern that no definite figure had been put on the number of affordable housing units that would be provided in the block of flats. Earlier this year, Merlin Enterprises pulled out of plans to build a LEGOLAND Discovery attraction at The Sands but the architects' body, CABE, had criticised the designs of that proposed attraction.

At yesterday's committee, Richard Flowitt of Scarborough and District Civic Society, said the proposed car park was "ugly" and said that if a water park did return to the site there was already sufficient existing ground level nearby.

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