A GROUP of protesters from Ludlow had cameras confiscated when they went to lobby Shropshire Council

More than 40 people formed a delegation that pressed the council to be more open.

The majority of the protestors were part of the Ludlow based Campaign For Fairness group but they were also joined by supporters from Craven Arms and Church Stretton.

After waving placards as councillors arrived for the meeting the group then went into the chamber only for some cameras to be confiscated.

There was a debate as to whether filming should be allowed as prior permission had not been sought but this was eventually allowed.

“We pointed out that the law allowed us to film and permission was eventually granted,” said the Rev Neil Richardson, a member of the campaign.

“Our chairman Dr Sandy Robertson was allowed to ask a question about the role of the company (ip&e) set up by the council to deliver services and our worries about a lack of transparency and public accountability.

“There remain a lot of unanswered questions and I have no doubt that we will be back at Shire Hall at some stage in the future.”

Campaigners in Ludlow are also unhappy about what they regard as the poor deal being given to the town and south Shropshire compared with Shrewsbury and the north of the county.

Examples they give of this are Shropshire Council withdrawing funding for the Visitor Information Centre in Ludlow, using part of the youth centre and library building as office accommodation, and the cuts being made to the Museum Resource Centre.

Keith Barrow, the leader of Shropshire Council, has defended the action of setting up the company ip&e.

“I take issue with the accusation that our plans for ip&e were secretive and undemocratic,” said Mr Barrow.

“During the council elections in 2013, the Conservative manifesto was hand-delivered to households across Shropshire, and ip&e formed a large part of this.

“The elections saw Conservative candidates returned to form a large majority in the council and therefore it is our job to enact upon the promises made in the manifesto - this is what the public expect of us.”