Councillors have ordered a report on how other parks and gardens in the city could be used instead of the Meadows.

Officials will also be asked to calculate how much damage has been caused in recent years and what new restrictions can be brought in.

The huge Fringe Sunday event was relocated from Holyrood Park to the Meadows several years ago, and popular acts like the Lady Boys of Bangkok also use the park during the festival.

In the past couple of years the Meadows has been used for an increasing number of visiting fairgrounds, while large new events like the Moonwalk charity walk in aid of breast cancer research and the Taste of Edinburgh food and drink festival, have also been based there.

Campaign groups believe the council is allowing too many events to be held on the Meadows and not enough restrictions are placed on organisers.

Alternative locations for events include Inverleith Park, Pilrig Park and Leith Links, all of which currently host smaller-scale events.

A combination of several months of bad weather this year and the impact of new events like the Moonwalk and Taste of Edinburgh is said to have left the middle section of the Meadows in its worst state of disrepair in living memory.

Local councillors say a clampdown from the local authority is long overdue.

Liberal Democrat Marilyne MacLaren, a senior member of the council administration, is seeking all-party support for a crackdown on Meadows events.

Ms MacLaren said: "In view of the strong community concerns about the use of the Meadows as a location for events throughout the year, I am asking for a report detailing the effects and implications of overuse of this location, and a review of how other city parks and spaces could be better used in order to minimise the impact of events on the Meadows."

Mark McInnes, a Tory councillor, said: "The problem has been the growing number of events in the Meadows in recent years, like the Moonwalk.

"We do believe other parks should share the burden, and we have to look at relocating some of them elsewhere."

BUSY YEAR FOR MEADOWS
BY FAR the biggest event on the Meadows is Fringe Sunday, the annual free showcase for hundreds of performers and artists, which has been known to attract crowds of more than 200,000.

A circus troupe and the Lady Boys of Bangkok were also allowed extended runs on the Meadows for five weeks this year.

Dozens of stands were set up in the park for the Taste of Edinburgh food and drink festival, which attracted more than 20,000 people over four days in June.

The beauty spot hosted 10,000 participants in the all-women Moonwalk, a charity walk that started inside a giant circus tent. It was also the venue for a rally following a major Orange parade and the climax of the Great Edinburgh Run.