A WAR of words erupted at Liphook Parish Council this week, when councillors were heavily criticised for assuming control of the villageÕs controversial Millennium Hall.

One local resident told councillors they needed Òtheir heads banging togetherÓ, while a hall trustee described the current situation as ÒpettyÓ and ÒpatheticÓ.

Earlier this month councillors took the decision to assume administrative control of the hall, setting up a new management committee and renaming it the Millennium Centre.

The announcement came as a shock to the hallÕs committee of trustees, who have been running the hall since it opened in 1999. On Monday night in the Peak Centre, they came looking for answers.

Repeatedly councillors were asked to explain why they had made the decision and how it would be beneficial to the community.

ÒHow are you going to make better money than the hall does now?Ó asked trustee Dr Richard Hardwick.

Newly-elected parish council chairman Alan Jordan said that it was not a matter of making more money.

Liphook In Bloom organiser Terry Burns commented: ÒI am concerned that when anything is taken over by a government organisation it is always at some cost, because people donÕt do it for grace and favour.Ó

Anna James said that so far £132,000 of parish council money had been paid to the hall, and that they had also paid £2,000 for the next yearÕs insurance.

ÒLiphook people have already paid money,Ó she said. ÒThere should be no reason for any extra money to go into the Millennium Hall.Ó

Mr Burns felt that he was not getting a straight answer. ÒOne person is shaking their head while the other is saying yes,Ó he said, angrily.

Concerns were also expressed that the change in management would result in a loss of goodwill and voluntary work.

ÒThe hall is a terrific asset for the village,Ó said Mr Burns. ÒBut IÕm concerned you will lose the goodwill of people who put themselves out to make it into that asset.Ó

Mrs James said that those who wish to continue their goodwill will be invited to do so. ÒAnd those who werenÕt happy before will also be able to contribute as well,Ó she said.

ÒItÕs in everybodyÕs best interest.Ó

Dr Hardwick said that he couldnÕt understand the difficulties that had developed between the trustees and the parish council.

ÒOne of the problems is dealing with the issue under duress,Ó said Mrs James. ÒLegal action was threatened against the staff and parish councillors while the issue was being discussed.Ó

Dr Hardwick said that that threat was from someone acting as a private individual, not as chairman of the trustees.

The doctor accused the council of creating the legal trouble in the first place, which Mrs James disputed.

ÒWe as a committee are not interested in legal action,Ó he said. ÒThe problem is with personalities, not with money.Ó

Mr Burns said: ÒA number of people need to get their heads banged together. If only people could have got themselves organised instead of all this bickering.Ó

David Wynn, one of the founding trustees, described the current friction between the council and the trustees as ÒpettyÓ, and ÒpatheticÓ.

ÒItÕs no secret that some councillors were elected on an anti-Millennium Hall platform,Ó he said. ÒThey thought it was a white elephant and that it would cost the village money.Ó

After three years the committee had Òmanifestly and demonstrably proved these fears to be unfoundedÓ, he claimed.

ÒWe are very proud of what we have achieved, but we are all hurting considerably,Ó he said. ÒIf it ainÕt broke, why fix it?Ó

At the end of the meeting, chairman of the Millennium Centre management committee John Tough proposed that the parish council agree to continue discussion with the hall trustees.

This week large advertisements appeared in the Haslemere Herald and another local newspaper, placed by the directors and trustees of the Millennium Hall.

The advert outlines the achievements of the last three years, with trustees calling it Òa great success storyÓ.

The trustees say they have Òdecided to co-operateÓ with Liphook Parish Council who want to now take on running of the hall despite their Ògrave concernsÓ that such a move would increase council taxes in Liphook.

ÒWe view this as a full stop,Ó said chairman of the trustees Frank Conroy. ÒWe are now prepared to give it our best shot.Ó

Mr Conroy told The Herald the advertisements had been paid for out of the trusteesÕ own pockets.