THE chief executive and clerk of Trowbridge Town Council has finally shared with councillors the government’s assessment of its £3.9 million loan application to help pay for a new plastic pitch next to Doric Park.

Cllr Antonio Piazza emailed Lance Allan on Friday, December 16 to request the assessment be shown to council members.

Now Mr Allan says he has shared the information Cllr Piazza had requested but said it was "not normal" for officers to share everything with members.

He said: "I have now sent all of the relevant documents to the councillors.

"It is not normal for council officers to share everything with councillors and certainly not prior to an agenda being published at which a matter is to be dealt with.

"If councillors were sent everything that the officers deal with they would be snowed under and ineffective."

The government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities sent the assessment to Mr Allan on December 2 but Cllr Piazza complained that by December 16 it had still not been shared with councillors.

He emailed Mr Allan again on Tuesday, December 20, saying: “In light of my previous email, can you please release the assessment document sent from the Department?”

The borrowing application for the controversial 3G Artificial Pitch and Pavilion next to Doric Park has been keenly scrutinised by Tory councillors.

They claim the £7.5 million project is now unaffordable because of rising inflation, interest rates and construction costs. They estimate the annual interest on loan repayments would be close to £200,000.

So far, the council has spent nearly £303,000 pursuing the project. Councillors have yet to make a final decision on the loan application as it has not been approved by the  DLUHC.

The loan application is understood to be ‘on hold’ while the DLUHC waits for the council to provide the clarification requested.

The DLUHC said: “Following a response from the council the team will reassess the responses provided against our borrowing approval criteria.”

"Where the department has reviewed any borrowing application and the authority has not been able to provide the evidence and information to meet DLUHC’s borrowing assessment criteria we would consider making the decision to not issue borrowing approval.”

Under the terms of the Section 106 funds being used, the site next to Doric Park has to be used for sports pitches.

If the DLUHC refuses the loan application, the council will need to reconsider its options for the project.