A village pub landlord couple say they are 'hanging on by our fingertips' after sparking a row with neighbours over plans to run a children's funfair in their beer garden. Donna Hetherington, 58, and husband Waine, 60, have been accused of turning their quiet Surrey village into a 'circus' after installing bouncy castles, paddling pools and trampolines outside the Dog and Duck pub in Outwood near Redhill.
Neighbours' Concerns
Furious locals claim the attraction has caused traffic chaos, with cars allegedly clogging grass verges and creating dangerous conditions on the narrow country road. One resident even branded the colourful setup an 'eyesore', while another compared the popular pub to a 'traveller camp'. Resident Tim Burgess, 46, said: 'It looks horrific. It is not the thing for around here. It is not really something that I would want. The parking there is a pain, they are parking all along the grass verges. There are endangered flowers there being crushed. Someone had their car go down a ditch. It is an eyesore. It is awful to have a huge funfair in a village pub.'
Mel, who works nearby, added: 'I don't like the parking on the verges. It is dangerous, especially since they are attending with young children and it is a fast road. The visibility is terrible and cars whizz by. This is a nice area, and I don't think it is safe to have this.'
Locals have also complained about noise, referencing the music played, crowds, and the generator used to power the event. Gillian Slyvester, 69, said: 'I do object because they don't give enough notice when they have parties. It can be really noisy. When we are sat in our garden we can hear it. At their bonfire party the noise was so bad that a horse was killed. It got spooked and bolted.'
Couple Liz and Steve, who are in their 70s, said that the pub should do what they have to in order to stay open, but they don't like it. Liz said: 'They have always got something going on there, it is like a circus. It does stick out.' Steve added: 'It brings it down. It used to be a nice pub. We would never go again because we don't want to be surrounded by screaming children. It brings the whole neighbourhood down. You come up the road and it looks like a traveller camp.'
Landlords' Defence
But the landlords insist the family-friendly attraction is the only thing keeping their struggling business afloat amid the ongoing pub trade crisis. The couple, who took over the pub 11 years ago, have now submitted retrospective plans to Tandridge District Council after being told the attraction required permission because it sits on green belt land. The fairground attraction - run by local company Extreme Fun - operates on weekends and during school holidays between March and October, charging children £10 for unlimited play.
Mum-of-four Donna said: 'We are literally hanging on by our fingertips at the moment. Everything is so expensive. The fair coming back will help but I don't know if it is too late for us now because it has had such a bad effect. There is nothing we can do that we haven't done to keep it open. If we close down, it will stay empty. It will be sad for the community. We are just two small family businesses working together to try and survive.'
Donna believes they are doing everything they can and that the parking is not their responsibility. She said: 'There are concerns over parking, but it is not in our power to control that. If the council don't want people to park there then they can put sticks in or bollards. I can't police it. If I go out and say not to park there I get a mouthful because it is a public road. It is detrimental for me to turn business away when we need customers.'
Ex-police officer Donna insists the generator is silent, and the speaker they use is a small children's one. She said: 'They said they can hear the generator but it is a silent generator. They also said the music is too loud but it is a kids' speaker. It is just malicious. When they are blatantly making stuff up that isn't true it's just not fair. We are really trying our best.'
Support from Residents
Many residents have showed their support for the event to try and save the pub. Annette Rice, 55, said: 'I think it is great. The kids are outside having fun away from computer screens. I thought it was ridiculous when it got shut down. It has been there for years. I took my kids when they were little. You have got to support your local pubs and keep them open.'
A 70-year-old resident, who wished to remain anonymous, claims several other local pubs have already shut. He said: 'It is good that it keeps the pub going. If it means the difference between them surviving and not surviving then I support it. Pubs have got to do something. Most of the pubs can't stay open. People have to drive down to come here. There are only so many people living in Outwood and we don't go drinking every day.'
The fair is run by Extreme Fun, a local family business. Liza Ott, 52, a mum-of-four who has run the company for 20 years, said: 'We are travelling showmen and we lost our business during Covid. The industry is dying. Last year was really devastating because we spent three years building it up and the council said we had to go. It would be a shame for us to leave. We get a lot of people thanking us for a good day out.'
A decision is due on June 18.
