A new carousel is set to join a town park’s Christmas offering, despite fears it will damage the grass.

Calverley Grounds in Tunbridge Wells already hosts an ice skating rink and Ferris wheel over the festive period, alongside seasonal stalls.

Now the borough council has been granted permission for another ride, a carousel, to be added for five weeks a year until 2028.

The decision was made at a planning committee meeting on November 6.

Recommending members back the application, an officer from Tunbridge Wells council explained: “A temporary permission is being sought that would tie in with the temporary permission for the ice rink.

“It supplements the ice rink development which has been popular and successful for the last 12 years with associated social, cultural and economic benefits.

“Some concerns have been raised in the past about the condition of Calverley Grounds and this area – essentially damage that’s caused during or by this temporary use of the grounds.

“There are already conditions on the ice rink permission that secures a restoration scheme.”

The ice rink runs for 12 weeks each year and the Ferris wheel, granted permission in 2023, for five.

The application for the carousel was made by the council itself, which wrote: “The carousel will be a temporary structure for a period of five weeks each year and will therefore have no permanent effect on the appearance of the grounds.”

It said the carousel would be located some distance from the listed buildings in and around Calverley Grounds, although it is near the cafe.

Local resident Martin Skinner, however, urged councillors to turn down the scheme due to fears for the damage it would cause to the park.

He said: “No doubt the committee will be aware of the current state of the grass.

“The area covered by the viewing wheel in 2023 is now in a far worse state than it was a year ago.

“The historic inability of that area to drain has been worsened by the compacting of the soil and ruining of its structure by the weight of aluminium sheets, the viewing wheel and associated plant.

“We can expect the same destructive outcome from the new proposed area.

“I urge the council not to permit this abuse of the grass and damage to the soil, and to think again about whether to install not just the carousel but also the wheel.”

Former councillor Nicholas Pope suggested that remedial works to the grass should take place as soon as possible after the structures are removed.

He said: “I’m not speaking to oppose this application though I agree with a lot of the comments made.

“The ground was damaged last year by the temporary installation and I don’t believe remediation work took place on the grass.”

Later in the spring, new seeds should be sown and the area fenced off to avoid being trampled, he added.

Pictures taken by Mr Pope show a large area of the park’s land barren after the installations were removed last year.

An officer explained that remedial works to the grass are set out in the permission granted for the ice rink, and requires the operators to roll out the ridges left in the grass by corrugated metal.

An 80 kilowatt generator is also set to be installed under the plans, and hosted under a soundproofing canopy.

Members of the planning committee voted unanimously to approve the application, adding a recommendation that work to restore the grass start sooner after the structures are dismantled.

It is hoped the carousel will be in place for this year’s Christmas event, but that has not yet been confirmed.

The ice rink is due to run daily from November 29 to January 5, apart from Christmas Day, with Bavarian curling sessions in the evenings.