Haslemere’s festive season is facing a blow after the annual Christmas Fair was cancelled for the first time in 40 years due to a shortage of bookings, organisers have confirmed.

The decision was taken with a “heavy heart” by Rotary Haslemere in consultation with Dianne Bennett, who founded the fair 40 years ago .By mid-August, just over half the tables had been booked, and despite a final push, organisers were unable to secure more takers.

Kevin Morris from Rotary Haslemere said: “We had no viable option left and agreed to cancel. Rotary is a charity itself, and it would have been wrong to risk a large financial loss. Dianne was clearly disappointed and felt it was wrong to have a half-empty Hall. We will try again next year and may consider a smaller venue or a biannual event.”

The cancellation comes on the heels of the recent Food Festival cancellation, when rain and damaged grounds made Lion Green unsafe for the event. Between the two, it has been a difficult few months for Haslemere’s events calendar.

Victoria Page, who would have been a stallholder at both events, described the impact as “devastating”: “These are the only two events we do in the year and this double blow has hit us hard, and we’re all very sad. As well as an opportunity to sell our Community Cookbook and other handmade items, we’ve lost out on a great opportunity to meet local people and share information on our initiatives to fix what’s broken, rescue and share surplus food and loan common DIY and garden items.”

Robert Noble, a frequent stallholder who raises money for Helping Street Children and Autistic Kenyan Children in Kenya, added: “This will affect my charity as I will lose an opportunity to sell my fair trade goods and greetings cards. I was also going to promote my book I'm Autistic, Get Me Out of Here, which is available with some of my fair trade products.”