Shouts of disgust met Helston Town Council’s decision to award £53,000 to just one community organisation – after just five minutes of discussion.

Amidst calls of “another farce” and claims from the public that the decision was “done and dusted before we arrived”, councillors handed the full pot of money under debate to the Epworth Hall, despite 16 community organisations bidding for it.

It marks a dissatisfactory end for many, for the money that came from the sale of the former community centre at 3 Penrose Road.

This was the proportion of the £159,000 sale figure that could be freely distributed to the town, with the rest earmarked for a project that meets the criteria of a covenant passed over with the sale – that the money must be spent on an “institute of technical scientific instruction”.

Organisations in Helston were invited to bid for the unrestricted money, with 16 arts groups, schools and sports clubs applying.

A special meeting of the council earlier this month descended into chaos, however, when only five councillors sat down to make a decision on the money – and two then walked out, leaving the meeting legally unable to continue.

This meant a delay to last Thursday’s full council meeting, when seven members were able to sit down and debate.

After hearing from representatives of the groups over what difference the money would make, Councillor Martine Knight began by putting forward the Epworth Hall, Helston Museum’s management group the South Kerrier Heritage Trust, and the Cornubian Arts and Science Trust that now runs 3 Penrose Road to share the money.

She said with match funding they could “propel Helston’s heritage and culture forward with leaps and bounds.”

She added: “To see it diluted down into small grants, I believe would be the worst conclusion.”

Mrs Knight acknowledged that this was a “very difficult and emotional issue for all of us”, adding: “I wish there were sufficient funds to grant them all, but we know they are not.”

However, Councillor Jonathan Radford-Gaby proposed giving the full £53,000 to the Epworth Hall, saying: “Whilst I wouldn’t take away anything from the validity of the other organisations mentioned, for me the Epworth Hall, right here in the town centre, ticks every box.

He agreed that it would be a “great shame” to “dilute the impact” of the money, fearing the town would “notice not what the money has done, only that the money has gone.”

He had the support of Councillor John Boase, who said: “If we can put it into bricks and mortar, it will be there for generations to come.”

Councillor Ronnie Williams then spoke up for the sports clubs, and the youth of the town, saying “at this stage they haven’t even been considered.”

He wanted to see each bid discussed individually and “taken on its own merit.”

Despite this members voted four to three in favour of giving the Epworth Hall the full quota – with Mike Thomas, Jonathan Radford-Gaby, John Boase and Nicola Boase voting in favour, and Martine Knight, John Martin and Ronnie Williams against.

The Epworth Hall is currently working to add disabled access to the hall, to make it accessible to all.

Earlier in the meeting members heard an impassioned plea from both the treasurer Paul Combellack and volunteer Celia Robb, who said: “All people who use wheelchairs are excluded from the building. It’s not only for the theatre; a myriad of different things happen in that building.”

She added that in a spot survey carried out after their last show, 27 per cent of 200 people surveyed said they had difficulty entering the building.

The hall’s chairman, Mark Upton, who is also a town councillor, played no part in the debate or vote, while fellow councillors Nicola Roberts, wife of the hall’s vice chairman, and holding trustee Gillian Geer both left the room.