HASLEMERE Town Council has defended using one of its prime leisure locations in the town to hold events, after a resident complained a fair held over a wet Easter weekend had turned Lion Green into a “bomb site.”

It also came in for some harsh criticism from another angry resident who did not wish to be named who claimed “the fair had been dumped on us,” after it left parts of the site like a quagmire with the hirers having to wait an extra week to move out because of the bad weather.

The resident who was concerned about who would foot the bill for the damage caused told The Herald: “I’ve spoken to an awful lot of people round here and personally I think the fair detracts from the area and it happens every year.

“The ground was soaking and it should never have been allowed on Lion Green. People can’t walk their dogs or sit on the grass and I can’t see that the elderly people living opposite in the care home would have wanted to put up with the noise of the fairground.”

The angry resident claimed top soil on the green had been churned up, with the additional loss of some of the grass.

And he claimed families were put off from going to the fair because of the expense of it.

In a letter to The Herald, James Sanders said: “Without adequate parking to accommodate the funfair seekers, the green had been subject to inconsiderate drivers deciding to park on the green, causing some cars to get stuck in the mud and turning it into a bomb site.”

Mr Sanders blamed the town council who had “possibly been paid a considerable amount of money to host the fair at the green, despite the ground not being suitable.” But the town council hit back at the residents’ comments this week.

Following a meeting of its amenities committee meeting, it issued a statement insisting the funfair had previously visited the town on two occasions last year without problems.

The council admitted it had received a “number of complaints” about the damage and one over noise, following the departure of the fair a week later than planned, because of the wet weather.

All hirers of Lion Green were required to pay a £1,000 deposit against damage and the fair had paid for an additional week to allow for the ground to dry out before it moved off, the council said.

“Unfortunately the weather did not improve so when the hirers did eventually leave Lion Green a considerable amount of damage was caused. Haslemere Town Council has never before needed to retain deposits, but repairs totalling £634 were needed with the remaining £366 returned to the hirer.”

New terms of hire were also being introduced to take account of “anticipated noise of future events.” But the council added: “One complaint about noise is a price worth paying given the enjoyment derived from it.

“Lion Green is a great open space in Haslemere and everyone is encouraged to use it - it is, after all, a green for everyone.”