Rain and ruined grounds have put a stop to one of Haslemere’s biggest annual events, as this year’s Food Festival has been cancelled.

Six months of planning had gone into the weekend’s event, which would have featured around 40 stallholders, a stage with local music, and was expected to draw between 3,000 and 5,000 visitors to Lion Green.

Heavy rainfall and large vehicles on the green last weekend left the area “damaged, rutted and unusable,” making it unsafe for the festival to go ahead. A meeting between the volunteer committee and town council confirmed that the grounds could not be repaired in time, with health and safety concerns cited as a key factor in the decision.

Melanie O’Dell, chair of the food festival committee, said: “It would have been dangerous for people to come on mass. We considered moving it to various locations, but the logistics and parking made it impossible. We will be meeting with the town council to see if we can have longer gaps between large events.

“The committee is very disappointed. This festival brings people to Haslemere, showcases our local produce, and it’s a great shame it didn’t happen. I want to thank all the stallholders, suppliers, and the public for understanding, and all the volunteers who worked so hard for months.”

Victoria Page, from the Love Haslemere, Hate Waste (LHHW) organisation, would have been a stallholder.

She described the impact as ‘devastating’. “The cancellation is a huge blow,” she said.

She said the festival would have raised “vital funds to keep the community fridge going”.

Its cancellation was a “lost opportunity to sell our handmade bird boxes, hand-turned apples and pears sourced from local wood, and our very first community cookbook,” she added.

People wishing to support LHHW can purchase these items on its website.