Conwy Council has come under fire after councillors were denied the opportunity to debate whether £620,000 was spent democratically.

At a special meeting at Bodlondeb, the Conservative group tabled a motion, seeking for the Wales Audit Office to review Conwy’s decision-making process.

The motion follows Conwy spending £620,000 on a 3G pitch after a Levelling-Up funding bid to UK Government failed.

But the Conservatives want the matter investigated because Conwy still funded the pitch, despite the failed bid and the matter not being formally debated by council.

At the special meeting, though, chairman Cllr Ifor Lloyd said the matter would be deferred to the scrutiny committee on September 4, without a debate taking place. This means councillors were denied the opportunity to voice concerns and must wait until after the summer break.

Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders was at the meeting and criticised the decision.

“I’m widely informed that this particular matter has not as yet gone through any formal democratic process,” she said.

“Imagine my surprise when within just a few minutes an excellent notice of motion was put forward by Cllr Cheryl Carlisle, eloquently highlighting issues around due procedure.

“But within minutes of the notice of motion being proposed and seconded, the chairman announced to the council that it would now be deferred to a scrutiny meeting in September.

“Well, I’ve got to be honest, there should be an outcry over this because, at the end of the day, we had this situation in 2014 when they put the rocks on the (Llandudno) beach without going through due process.

“It is just how you would not expect a democratic council (to operate). It was outrageous what I witnessed.

“I’ve read the constitution, and it states that, by wish of the council, they can defer it to another meeting, but this was not the wish of the council. There wasn’t a vote taken. The chairman himself took control of the meeting and spoke at the council, told them it was being deferred.

“I have never in my life, ever – and I used to call a lot of these special meetings (when she was a councillor) – seen this happen. If a motion was put forward, proposed and seconded, we would debate the vote and that right was taken away from the councillors today.”

She added: “The Wales Auditor General should be looking very closely at this now. They (the councillors) are only sat on those chairs because the electors have put them there. Their duty, first and foremost, is to those electors and residents who they represent. To have that right taken away from councillors, when we are talking about £620,000 of taxpayers’ money, causes me huge concern.”

In response, a Conwy County Borough Council spokesperson said: “The motion has been referred to Finance & Resources Overview Scrutiny Committee for consideration and determination, in accordance with the council’s constitution.”

The matter had previously been raised at the Finance and Resource Overview and Scrutiny Committee on July 3.

The committee requested a further report, which will go to the Finance and Resource Overview and Scrutiny meeting on September 4.