Plans to build a new 'nature' nursery in Mauchline have been turned down by East Ayrshire Council.
The application, submitted on behalf of Helix Homes Ltd, featured plans for a new complex to be built in the woodland area north of the Loudoun Street car park.
Initial plans were submitted at the end of last year, with revised drawings coming to the council at the start of this year.
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Planning officers from the local authority recommended that the application be approved, subject to a number of conditions.
But when the application went before the council's planning committee in June, no decision was made - with the committee deciding that a site visit should be held before a vote on whether or not to approve the plans for the facility, which would have had room for up to 64 children.
That site visit took place on Wednesday, July 26 - and was followed two days later by a special meeting of the planning committee.
After the application was discussed in detail, the plans were refused permission by five votes to four.
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Councillor William Lennox (SNP, Ballochmyle), supported by Drew Filson (Independent, Doon Valley), moved that the application be refused.
Their motion said that the increased traffic likely to occur on three nearby access streets - Clarinda Crescent, East Park Avenue and Nether Walk - meant the application did not comply with the 2017 local development plan for East Ayrshire.
The development plan requires all developments to be fully compatible with surrounding established uses, and to have no unacceptable impacts on the environmental quality of the area.
Councillor Maureen McKay (Labour, Kilmarnock North), seconded by her Labour colleague Elaine Stewart (Doon Valley), put down an amendment recommending that the plans be approved.
But it was Cllr Lennox's motion that carried the day by a 5-4 margin.
The application also split opinion in Mauchline, with the plans' supporters saying the nursery was needed in the town to accommodate the new housing being built in the area.
Objectors, however, raised concerns that the location of the nursery would create traffic issues.
According to the planning portal at East Ayrshire Council's website, the application attracted 17 objections and 26 expressions of support.
One person said: "This would be an amazing addition to our village and allow for generations to come to play, learn and grow in a unique, natural setting."
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Another argued: "The notion of foregoing parking facilities to encourage walking, cycling and public transport is not realistic, especially in the winter for nursery aged children."
The planning application for the new development stated that, in the event of permission being granted, the new facility would have been offered to the Burns Bairns group as an alternative to its current base in the Centre Stane building, close to the junction of High Street and Earl Grey Street.
A design and access statement submitted to the council in support of the application stated that Burns Bairns' current base has capacity for up to 33 children.
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