A £1 million bid to extend a community and arts centre has been hit by a row over elitism and cronyism. 

More than 50 people attended a presentation at the Drill Hall in Chepstow  on Sunday morning (July 23) but in an often fractious meeting, the committee piloting the bid for Lottery money came in for criticism. 

If successful, the bid, which has to be with the Lottery Commission by September 26, would provide the building costs for an extension and other facilities and running costs for the first five years. 

Cllr Ned Heywood, who is one of the trustees, said: “The Drill Hall is currently well used and with the much improved facilities provided by a successful lottery bid, it will provide many more opportunities particularly for daytime activities.”

But there were questions about how the group of trustees was selected and where they were drawn from as well as criticism about the amount of high-brow arts events at the hall. 

Chepstow town councillor Lisset Burret said the ‘foundation’ model used to select trustees restricted control to a small group of people. 

Cllr Heywood said the trustee group had been set according to advice from the Charities Commission to facilitate the Lottery bid, but he supported a wider ‘association’ model which would allow local people to vote for trustees after the bid had been secured. 

One critic, who asked not to be named, said: “Nobody is against the plans for the Drill Hall, it is a question of transparency. 

“The trustees are basically the people who use the hall all the time and have the big, block bookings – it should be run by an independent group of people. 

“I have no idea how people get to be trustees, it is a small, closed group.” 

Cllr Heywood said the only block bookings were for the two-yearly  Chepstow Festival until the programme was set, for the weekly cinema showings and for shows by local amateur dramatics groups. 

A woman in the audience said she had seen several e-mails asking for volunteers to become trustees. 

There was also criticism about the Drill Hall programme which includes live broadcast of ballet, opera and theatre from places such as London and Moscow – although supporters said it gave people in Chepstow access to world-class art. 

One of the critics said: “What is being proposed is purely for the upper class, it is not for the general public. Who wants ballet?” 

A number of people, who described themselves as ‘ordinary,’ said they enjoyed the arts such as ballet and opera. 

Matt Taylor, who runs Chepstow Bookshop, said he had received ‘enormous support’ when staging events at the Drill Hall. 

Town councillor Hilary Beach said Chepstow Town Council should carry out an independent consultation of people in the town. 

There was also praise for Cllr Heywood for the ‘fantastic work’ he has done over many years for the cultural life of the town.