A councillor has welcomed the decision by a watchdog committee to uphold the awarding of a grant of almost £19,000 to his business.

The decision to approve a payment from the High Street Fund (HSF) to The Looker Newspaper, which is owned by Cllr David Wimble, had been 'called-in' for review by the Folkestone and Hythe District Council overview and scrutiny committee.

Three other council members called for the award of £18,711 to be scrutinised further because of what they saw as ambiguity in the process, including the declaration of an interest relating to Cllr Wimble.

The Looker applied to the HSF for a grant towards the refurbishment and fit-out of new premises in Hythe High Street, which would house a sweet shop and growing model railway business owned by Cllr Wimble's firm.

At the committee's hearing on July 13, Cllr Rebecca Shoob opened the meeting by saying the decision to request the review came down to seeking greater clarity.

She said: "I've asked for this decision to be called in because I think it's essential that residents can have full confidence in the way decisions are made and grants awarded.

"I think this particular decision has highlighted some shortcomings in the process that need to be addressed so that we can clearly demonstrate rigorous decision making."

"They took it for granted that I had given my own grant to myself..."

The decision to award the cash was taken by the leader of the council, Cllr David Monk, following a recommendation by a decision panel which he also sits on.

Paperwork recommending the approval of the grant to Cllr Wimble's business appeared to suggest he had also sat on that panel - when in fact he had removed himself from it due to the conflict of interest.

Cllr Shoob acknowledged the working of the document may have been "boilerplate text" but this did not give "clarity or confidence".

After hearing evidence from Cllr Monk and Ewan Green, the council's director of place, the committee voted in favour of upholding the decision to award the money to The Looker Newspaper.

Speaking following the meeting, Cllr Wimble - who represents New Romney - suggested the whole meeting could have been avoided if the three who requested the review had picked up the phone to speak to him.

"They took it for granted that I had given my own grant to myself," he said. "I've had a lot of very sarcastic comments from lots of different opposition councillors.

"All they had to do was to phone me up and ask me the question and not accuse me of doing things that were wrong.

"They only had to speak to the leader of the council or any of the officers and they would have explained the fact that due process was always called for."