TEMPERS flared at a council meeting in a heated row over a well-established Wrexham playground.

A Caia Park Community Council meeting descended into chaos when a councillor made a ‘V’ sign gesture towards Whitegate Cllr Brian Cameron who was acting chairman.

Councillors took a five minute ‘cool down’ period before resuming and being reminded by clerk Michael Morris of their Code of Conduct and the need to respect each other.

The meeting erupted when members were discussing a grant funding bid from the The Venture playground, whose chief officer is the community council’s chairman, Cllr Malcolm King.

A bid for £14,000 was submitted to fund three play sessions a week, despite the council’s grant funding pot having a limit of £2,500 for each organisation which applies. At a previous meeting The Venture had a £30,000 funding bid knocked back.

Mr Morris spelled out to members that they would be breaching their own rules if they were to grant the money and that it would wipe out the entire pot for the rest of the year.

He added that alternatively they could dip into the council’s diminishing reserves to find the money and the council tax would have to go up.

The rules had only ever been breached once previously, to fund the now closed Gwenfro Valley children’s integrated centre, of which Queensway councillor Colin Powell was manager.

Before the discussion Cllr King declared an interest and left the room, with Whitegate County Cllr Brian Cameron stepping in as temporary chairman.

Cllr Powell declared a personal interest as a friend of Cllr King, but unlike Cllr King, who left when declaring an interest as a friend of Cllr Powell when Gwenfro Valley had been discussed months earlier, Cllr Powell decided to stay for the Venture debate.

He said the application should be supported or “the alternative is the estate goes back to the 1970s when I was a kid and there was nothing to do”.

But other members felt, that although no laws would be broken, they could not keep ignoring their own rules to fund projects in which other members including the council chair were involved.

Smithfield Cllr Jayne Johnson said: “Why are we looking at it again? We’ve already said we can’t afford it.”

She added that had any other community group, such as one of the estate’s Morris dancing troupes, applied for a grant in excess of £2,500 it would be turned down flat and everyone should be treated fairly.

Queensway County Cllr Carrie Harper, who declared a personal interest in that her son accessed a scheme at The Venture, said: “We would be completely disregarding our policies.

“I don’t see how we can grant £14,000 when it doesn’t meet our own grant criteria. He (Cllr King) knows that.

“People put their trust in us to look after a budget of £250,000 and treat everyone the same.

“I’m really worried hearing that some members of this council have been pressured into voting a certain way on this.

“Things haven’t been done properly. It has got to stop.”

Cllr Powell repeated his view that without funding the service would be lost and “when it’s gone, it’s gone”.

This infuriated Queensway Cllr Steve Jones who said: “Colin you are playing games here, trying to get the money for Malcolm.

“I’m p*****d off listening to all this c***”.

When Cllr Cameron tried to intervene, Cllr Jones made his two-fingered gesture and an immediate ‘time-out’ was called.

Cllr Harper proposed that members reject the proposal because it breached policy.