WAVERLEY Borough Council could sell Wey Hill Fairground to the ‘highest bidder’ to develop, The Haslemere Society has warned.

The society has objected to Waverley’s response to The Planning Inspectorate in the face of more than 50 objections and a 1,000-strong protest petition to its bid to deregister the site as common land and introduce pay-and-display parking, as “particularly unconvincing”.

Its written objection to Waverley’s response stated: “It gives no guarantee or assurance as to how long the cash-raising pay and display they are intending to install will last, or that they will not relinquish ownership of the site to sell it to the highest bidder to develop, which they will be able to do after deregulation of the common land.

“This would result in a development where profit will be the main motive.”