THE row over the organisation of the Odiham Extravaganza has led another parish councillor to resign.

Peter Fountain, who had served on Odiham Parish Council for three years, wrote a letter of resignation last week, which has since been accepted by chairman Councillor Simon Quarrell.

Mr Fountain said the decision taken by the parish council’s events and community committee earlier this month to take over running of the annual Extravaganza – a late-night shopping and fireworks event – clashed with his role as the village’s town manager.

The committee’s decision came after it rejected a proposal in July to hand over management of the event to the Odiham Town Management Group (OTMG) – a company set up in 2001 to promote business in the village – as it had done in previous years.

Committee members had raised concerns about councillors who were non-paid directors on the OTMG having prejudicial interests.

Mr Fountain, a member of the OTMG, said he was unable to co-operate with the committee in running the event.

In his resignation letter, he wrote: “I am delighted that the events and community committee wish to run the Odiham Extravaganza – it will have been some years since the parish council have run an event.

“However it is clear that co-operation is not something that they seek and therefore to serve on the same council is something that my conscience will not allow me to do.”

Following his resignation, Mr Fountain issued a statement about the committee’s decision in relation to the reputation of other events that he had run in the past few years as part of the OTMG.

It read: “Am I about to see this destroyed by a small group who have no experience and seemingly just want to make a statement which could seriously damage the credibility of Odiham events?”

Councillor Simon Cubbage, a member of the events and community committee, said he regretted Mr Fountain’s decision, but hoped the Odiham Extravaganza would still go ahead.

He told The Gazette: “I think we will have to work very hard and sincerely hope that it does go ahead because it’s certainly an important event in Odiham and it’s such a pity that it has been screwed up.”

Councillor Quarrell paid tribute to Mr Fountain.

He said: “I think his contribution has been absolutely superb because of his leadership in the community and he has done an awful lot of work. It is really regrettable that he will not continue.”

Mr Fountain’s decision follows the resignation of Derek Kearns, the former vice-chairman of Odiham Parish Council, earlier this month.

As reported in The Gazette, Mr Kearns blamed his resignation on “constant bickering where personal interests and conflicts are more important than serving the residents”.

Plans to replace the two councillors are yet to be discussed.