HASLEMERE Town Council has declared its “outright opposition” to plans by Waverley Borough Council to turn the fairground car park in Wey Hill into a pay and display.

Currently common land, years of wrangling over the pot-holed and poorly maintained piece of ground, a favourite free commuter car park, came to a head when the borough council threatened to “de-register” it and swap it for what is seen as an “unusable piece of scrub land” on the outskirts of the town in Sun Brow woods.

Mayor David Round told The Herald the town council would submit a response to the planning inspectorate opposing the application wholeheartedly.

Objectors packed into the town hall last Thursday to reinforce their opposition to the scheme, following a public meeting three days earlier.

In a statement it said: “The council had already objected to de-registering the land unless legally necessary, but had previously agreed to plans to partially re-surface the land and charge for car parking.”

Residents have called for the land to be used for a future mixed development and the council plans to form a working party including representation from The Haslemere Society, Haslemere Vision and the Chamber of Trade.

Mr Round said: “The response to the inspectorate now highlights this as the preferred route quite apart from de-registering the land, which the council has consistently opposed.

“I am very pleased there was so much agreement between the council’s ideas and those of residents, as I had predicted before the public meeting.”

And he declared: “It is absolutely right to sharpen our response now to object to the re-surfacing and charging plans Waverley have, as it is quite clear our residents do not want that.”

Protesters to the pay-and-display scheme include Aine Hall whose petition attracted more than 1,000 signatures and urged residents to respond to the planning consultation which closed on Monday..

An ecologist has estimated the land offereed in the swap drops more than 65ft over a short distance, giving it no civic benefit because it won’t be open to all members of the public.

The council objected the proposed replacement land was ‘wholly unsuitable,’ being smaller, less valuable, unusable and inaccessible.

Ex-mayor Malcolm Carter said: “The land values for the two are totally different. Wey Hill is far more valuable. Secondly, how many cars will be displaced as part of the pay-and-display process?”