SURREY County Council has cancelled an upcoming 'away day' at Farnham Castle, following a public outcry against a similar event held last year.

The council's Tory majority has faced intense criticism after spending £4,158 on a two-day residential stay for 26 Conservative cabinet members and senior officers at Farnham Castle last November.

And, with a similar event scheduled to take place at the castle in June, leader of the council's Lib Dems group, Hazel Watson, demanded the council cancel its booking and hold future cabinet 'away days' at council buildings.

A spokesman for the council said: "We always look carefully at which venue would be most appropriate, but the reality is that events like this work.

"Although we had made a provisional booking for June we have since decided that Farnham Castle is not the most suitable venue. We are now planning to hold the event at one of our offices.

"We use our own buildings as a first choice but every once in a while we need to meet elsewhere.

"This allows us to take a step back, carefully plan ahead and continue to develop the plans that have already led to millions of pounds of savings for the Surrey taxpayers."

However, it has also emerged that the county council held another two-day 'workshop' at Farnham Castle in May last year.

And that has led Mrs Watson to ask how many more overnight residential meetings the current administration has held since the last local election.

The Lib Dem leader said: "I know for a fact that the November trip was not a one-off. The council had met at the castle in May that year and possibly several times more.

"The voting public, who are struggling in these tough times, should know the amount of their money that has been spent on this.

"This is not an easy time for anyone and the council should be making it clear that it is looking to save money rather than spending it unnecessarily."