Row over town's £3m pot of cash

However, of this planning obligations fund, only £500,000 has been spent and a total of £900,000 allocated for recreational purposes.

The money is collected under "section 106 agreements" which require companies behind planning applications to contribute towards local recreation space.

"It is quite clear there are considerable difficulties in operating the 106 agreement monies," Cllr Don Collier, portfolio holder for the environment, told a meeting of the Borough of Poole.

But a proposal to change the rules on who decides where the money is spent was opposed by Liberal Democrat members.

Conservatives aimed to establish a group of five members of both parties to make recommendations to the environment overview group and cabinet.

Area committees currently have powers to decide how to spend some of the money and this would be taken away, although their views would be taken into consideration - requiring a change to the council's constitution.

"This is taking decision-making away from members and the public," said Lib Dem Cllr Mike Brooke. "It isn't democracy. It isn't serving the area committees and residents in the community."

Cllr Philip Eades said: "You are forcing us to go down this route of centralising the power to distribute all this extra money at the whim of one councillor on one side."

But Conservative Cllr Chris Bulteel said the regeneration areas of Poole town centre and Hamworthy would be awash with money. "Area committees will be extremely pushed to find out how to spend all this extra money within our wards," he said.

Cllr Ron Parker said the system was not working efficiently. "We are trying to look at the whole system so that money is effectively used," he said.

Lib Dem Cllr Jane James said: "Area committees will lose their voice in something that needs to be done because there are more people in those areas."

Cabinet will make a decision on the matter.

First published: Sept 27