Throwing out plans for park and ride facilities during the Olympic Games was a monumental mistake, according to some in the area.

Apps Court Farm in Hurst Road, Walton, applied for permission to use the site as a base during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, taking people to Hampton Court station to explore 2012 events across the capital.

Special circumstances were needed to permit because the plans were for greenbelt land, but councillors voted seven to 12 against at a meeting on March 27.

Leader of Elmbridge Council Councillor John O’Reilly said: “I don’t think it even came close to meeting special circumstances.

“If they hadn’t been as greedy, and had been more modest about the length of time they wanted it for, maybe they would have been more successful.”

He said the 14-week period was unjustified, no alternatives had been sought and it would generate more traffic.

Councillor Rachael Lake, chairman of the Elmbridge Business Network, said: “I’m disappointed and saddened at this decision which will be a monumental loss to businesses in Elmbridge.

“To say this is a missed opportunity is an understatement, it is phenomenal. We’re a host borough, with three Olympic events, and we have now have no park and ride whatsoever.”

She said it was unpatriotic and said people would be parked in cul-de-sacs, on grass verges, and any spare road they could find, during the cycle races this June.

Stuart Macgregor, manager of Apps Court, said: “It is preposterous that a council in an area that has Hampton Court Palace on its doorstep and a fantastic campsite on the Thames, together with fabulous amenities in Walton and East Molesey, does not want to promote tourism and the business it brings.”

Councillor Barbara Cowin, whose Walton North ward covers Apps Court, said: “In my opinion these aren’t just special circumstances, they are exceptional circumstances, but those at full planning did not agree, and that is democracy.”