IT is the row that has split the village of Colden Common.

The parish council which owns Colden Community Centre but leases it to the community association in the village has vacated the building after refusing to pay for an hourly-rate on a room that would not be exclusive to them.

Both sides have been accusing the other of "factual inaccuracies" about the situation on social media and villagers calling for both organisations to come together to find a solution.

The centre was built in 1992 and opened by the Duchess of Gloucester, and even has a room named after the late astrologer Sir Patrick Moore.

According to parish council chairman Richard Izard who signed the lease then, it was in the "spirit" of the agreement that the parish council would have an office, and this was provided free of charge.

However the Colden Common Community Association (CCCA) say that 80 per cent of its revenue comes through room rental, and they asked the council to pay £6.50 per hour for use of the stage store room for nine hours a week; however the council declined over restricted non-exclusive access.

The council researched alternative space, and asked CCCA to consider leasing one of the changing rooms for use as a dedicated council office, however their offer was turned down and a revised proposal was put forward to convert storage space into an office, this was also turned down.

The Chronicle understands they have put a new bid on the table to convert a changing room.

CCCA said in a statement on Facebook that the parish council use the room as well as holding regular meetings without contributing to the centre, and that the meetings mean the association can’t book the rooms to paying customers.

The charity say the council also used resources of the centre without making necessary contributions to the cost.

A statement by Colden Common Parish Council said: "The council have always had a presence in the Community Centre, so it is very disappointing that the centre manager and trustees have made this impossible to continue by offering at a high rental cost unacceptable and unsuitable accommodation for an office environment. This is a very sad state of affairs for a village which has grown enormously in recent years, but until now has always retained its spirit of a village community and co-operation."

A statement by CCCA said: "Last year the new Parish Clerk requested exclusive use of an office space and we offered two alternative rooms at the centre where she would not be disturbed by enquiries from the public about Community Centre matters rather than PC business. There was then an initial three-month pilot, extended to nine months, during which time we have been talking to the parish council about payment of an appropriate hirer's fee. The principle of paying for office space has not been contested, merely the amount "The offer of two different possible rooms to use as a PC office were declined by the PC, including the one that the PC has been using since July 2015. A suggestion by the PC that we convert one of the changing rooms was not considered desirable as it would adversely affect several of our community user groups and might limit future hirings "The CCCA Trustee Committee has always said that it believes a Parish Council Office located at the Community Centre, in the middle of the village, is the best place to provide accessibility and benefit to our community. "

The parish council are due to relocate to the pavilion at Boyes Lane.

A meeting has been arranged by CCCA to discuss the issue on November 6 at 7pm which will be held at the centre.