A YOUNG charity trustee was reduced to tears during a grilling over a grant application for Salisbury’s lantern parade.

Now Salisbury Area Board member Paul Sample has accused his fellow Wiltshire councillor Richard Clewer of a “bullying, confrontational approach” and urged him to apologise.

But cllr Clewer retorted: “If you ask for public money, you have to expect scrutiny.”

Circular Arts, the charity that organises the parade and lantern-making workshops, which involve many disadvantaged groups, recently asked the board for £5,000.

Members deferred a decision until July, seeking further information.

Cllr Clewer pointed out that Toozalii - a company that runs various Circular Arts projects and is headed by the parade’s organiser Alex Grant - is not a charity.

He questioned whether professional artists should be paid to run workshops when, in his view, volunteers could do it.

He told the Journal that the council has its own Participatory Arts Workshop Scheme to give professional help to community projects.

Asked whether he would have similar reservations about giving cash to the city’s Arts Festival, he replied: “It’s the same question. Area boards’ money is there to support community development, and budgets are getting scarily tight.”

Mr Grant explained that without proof of local authority support, other organisations will not help.

He said: “Because the decision was postponed, we have missed the deadlines for getting thousands of pounds from three other funding bodies, and lost a business agreement worth £3,000 over three years.”

He added: “Some board members didn’t seem to grasp the concept of a community project. It was the method of questioning that reduced one of our youngest trustees to tears.”

Cllr Sample said: “The lantern parade is a wonderful project. Board meetings are supposed to be co-operative and positive in their approach. Members are elected by local people to be their servants, not their masters.

“On this occasion it was like being on the floor of the Central Criminal Court. I was embarrassed, and I apologised on behalf of the board because I didn’t want people to think that was the way we go about our business.”

The board’s vice chairman, cllr Chris Cochrane, said: “The applicants were asked for more detail on their financial structure and profitability. Some people feel their accountability for public spending very keenly.

“I tried to reassure the young lady. We are bending over backwards to make sure the event happens as usual.”