COUNCILLORS in Poole have hit out at their officers for allowing a funfair to be held at Branksome Recreation Ground despite them securing a ban on the events several years ago.

Long-running anti-social behaviour problems in the area which had been linked to funfairs sparked councillors to work to draw up the ban almost a decade ago.

Residents have joined councillors in slamming the “disrespectful” decision to allow their return - a move which they were only made aware of hours before its arrival.

Ward councillors Marion Le Poidevin and Philip Eades were sent an email from a council recreation officer on Monday afternoon saying that a funfair would be setting up on the site later that day.

“It took me totally by surprise,” Cllr Le Poidevin said. “The first I had heard of it was that email on Monday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing more and more of this recently where councillors are not included in these discussions which affect people living in our wards.”

Following the email, both councillors responded criticising the decision to allow funfairs to return to the recreation ground.

Cllr Eades said: “There were a lot of problems with anti-social behaviour over the years it was held and there had been a lot of complaints from residents.

“It took a lot of meetings and work to have funfairs banned. It was a long process.

“This makes it all the more annoying that we are only informed a couple of hours before the funfair arrived.

“Not only have the past complaints of residents been ignored but we have been left completely out of a process which would have taken months to go through.”

Branksome Recreation Ground does host a circus every summer and Cllr Le Poidevin said that it was much better controlled and was accepted by people neighbouring the site.

“The carnival attracts a different crowd,” she said. “It’s much better controlled than the funfairs were in the past and there are very few issues with it.”

Anne Sheppard, who lives opposite the recreation ground in Playfields Drive, said: “We haven’t been told, this is awful.

“We love the carnival but that has been postponed for the last couple of years and the circus is never a problem, everyone is so well behaved.

“My main issue is just parking and noise because we have a dog and the sheer fact that there has been no notification whatsoever.

“I just think it is so disrespectful to us and they haven’t taken any consideration into it being a really built up area, this road is busy enough at the best of times. I am very, very disappointed.”

Marilyn Roach, who also neighbours the site, said that residents should have been consulted before the council gave permission for the funfair to be held due to past issues.

Funfair organisers arrived at the site on Monday afternoon to begin setting up ahead of its opening on Friday.

It will then be open to the public until Sunday, June 17 with a deadline of the following Tuesday given for it to leave.