A Croydon charity fears it will no longer be able to put on its annual fundraising carnivals after the council increased its charges for their commercial partner to use its parks.

The Lions Club are worried they will have to cancel their Ashburton fair in June if their commercial partner John Coneley Fairgrounds has to pay an extra £400 to set up their rides.

Last year the fairground company, which has been coming to Croydon for the past 30 years, paid £225 to set up its rides to support the Lions Club carnival. This year they are being asked to pay £625.

Patrick Carpenter, fundraising chairman for the Croydon Lions Club, said: “We put a carnival on every year at Ashburton Park. John Coneley set up their rides and donate £1,000 to us, we put on the stalls, the sideshows and get the games going.”

Mr Carpenter said there used to be no charge for the Lions Club to set up their fairs.

“Last year was the first year we have been charged. We had to put down a £500 deposit which was refunded back to us and £116 for the day. If the charges keep increasing, we may not have enough money in the kitty to put on the carnival.

“There will be many disappointed people if that happens. John Coneley is putting on a carnival in May, it might be the last one this borough sees.”

Maureen Coneley, who owns the fair with her husband John, said: “We cannot afford the new charges, they are astronomical. We are a small funfair, we work with Croydon Lions and Radio Mayday. If we have to pay £625 a day, we would be unable to support the charities.”

The council said the fairground company has been charged incorrectly in the past because it does not have a charity on site for the full time.

A Croydon Council spokesman said the fair is in place for 10 days but only has a charity on site for two of those days.

He said: “The apparent increase in some charges has arisen for some operators because they have in fact been paying less than they should for the past few years.

"This is one such case as it has come to our attention that the applicant does not meet the criteria for the charity discount rate (ie. they are neither a registered charity nor are they working directly with a registered charity on site).

"Our published terms and conditions are clear on this fact, however we are not looking to recover any of these underpayments.”