A Tory town and Wiltshire councillor has been kicked off a working group for the £7.5 million Doric Park all-weather pitch project next to Trowbridge Rugby Club.

Councillor Antonio Piazza has repeatedly raised serious concerns about the project – fearing that rising interest rates and inflation will push up the total cost of repaying a possible £3.9m loan to more than £11m over a 50-year period.

Cllr Piazza was also kicked off the Town Clerk's Review Panel, following a motion submitted by Liberal Democrat council leader Stewart Palmen.

Previously, he had been excluded from the group after being accused of ‘leaking’ confidential details of the Doric Park project to the media.

Cllr Piazza told this newspaper: “Unfortunately, as of last night, I am no longer a member of the Doric Park Working Group or the Town Clerk’s Review Panel as I have been excluded from both groups.

“Removal of an elected member, preventing them from being able to serve their residents fully as their representative, is another nail in the coffin for local democracy in Trowbridge where it seems that scrutiny of policy is not permitted.

“The vote to cancel the project was also lost, despite costs spiralling (interest and inflation) and central government stating in a public document that: 'We will not rush to reach a decision on borrowing approval until we are satisfied that all criteria has sufficiently been met with clear evidence’.

“This now forces me into a difficult position as an elected member because I am no longer entitled to access information about the project or able to partake in robust discussions, scrutinising the project, in the same way as other members.”

The full council voted down by 9-5 a motion ‘that the council cancels the Doric Park Project and seeks to recoup any funds invested into the project’.

The motion to cancel was moved by Cllr Piazza and supported by Cllr Edward Kirk. They said the cost of repaying the possible government loan at more than £11 million over 50 years was too high. 

But other councillors responded that the decision should be made on the basis of whether the project was affordable year by year, taking account of income and outgoings, as well as the cost of construction. These figures were constantly changing and needed to be examined if and when the loan was granted.

Council Leader Stewart Palmen said: “It makes no sense for Councillor Piazza to be on a working group for a project he just tried to cancel.

"Apart from that, he leaks documents and we cannot have him on a group that needs to discuss challenging issues candidly.

"Of course all agreements ultimately need to be made public and voted on. But while they are being negotiated as drafts, confidentiality matters.  

"By betraying confidences he lets down our partners and damages trust in the council.  He is now trying to wriggle out of being removed from the working group on a technicality. All in all it is not a good look.”  

He added: "Common-sense has prevailed. We have kept open the prospect of a project that can benefit thousands of sportspeople.

“This was not the time to make this decision. We are awaiting the outcome of a bid for a government loan and once we have a response that will be the right moment to choose.

“Interest rates and costs are rising, but so is the potential income. The estimates change every day and we’ll need to consider what the numbers look like if and when we get the loan approved.

“It would have been completely wrong the dash the hopes of clubs and players by cancelling when there was no need to do so.”

The council wants to provide an all-weather pitch and a pavilion at Doric Park with changing rooms, showers, toilets, a small fitness gym, and a meeting room.

Access to the site – which is apparently too narrow to accommodate a full-size pitch – is over a narrow strip of land owned by Trowbridge RFC which the town council plans to buy as part of a 99-year leasehold agreement.