The much-disputed value of the council’s shares in the Bluestone holiday park could only be settled by taking them to open market, councillors heard.

The value of Pembrokeshire council-owned shares in the Bluestone holiday park near Narberth – exchanged for £1.9m in loans more than a decade ago – has seen claims they are worth just £70,000, and counter-claims placing them as high as £1.3m.

Back at the May 11 meeting of the county council, in a response to a question by Councillor Alan Dennison on dividend returns, Cabinet Member for corporate Finance Cllr Alec Cormack said the value of the shares were estimated at under £70,000, and had paid out £19,000 in dividends over the last five years.

Since then, the value placed on the shares has been disputed.

An email from Bluestone’s Chief Executive Officer William McNamara was received by all councillors, on the eve of a May 18 leadership challenge meeting to Council Leader David Simpson, valuing the shares at £1.3m.

Details of the email – citied at the May 18 meeting - have not been made public.

At the October meeting of the council, Cllr Dennison asked two related questions on the Bluestone shares, the second addressed to the leader.

“Did the Leader of the Council [Cllr David Simpson] approve the response of the Cabinet Member for Finance [Cllr Alec Cormack] to the question submitted by myself regarding the return to date over the last five years of the Bluestone shares held by this council, at the full council meeting held on May 11 and, if so, will he comment on the response from the CEO [of Bluestone] which appears to contradict the Cabinet member’s response?”

Cllr Simpson said: “No, I don’t screen or sanction answers by Cabinet members to council,” adding: “Cabinet members answer the question based on their own portfolio responsibility.”

Cllr Dennison, in response asked: “Given that the Cabinet member’s response to my question has been subsequently challenged by the CEO of Bluestone can the Leader advise who we are to believe?

“William McNamara, the CEO of Bluestone, a local lad of many years of experience in business striving to promote Pembrokeshire or the intransient here-today-gone-tomorrow Cabinet member for finance, who has already had to be corrected by the Chief Executive for his incorrect comments on toilet closures, and who is striving to score political points?”

Cllr Simpson responded, saying he had “every respect” for Bluestone’s CEO, citing the economic value of the attraction to the county.

“Now, he has an opinion what those shares are worth, and I respect that opinion. Likewise, our Cabinet member for finance has an opinion on the shares that we hold and what he has been advised by officers.

“There’s only one way we can find out the answer, how much these shares are worth, and that is by taking them to the open market.

“You say somebody’s wrong, but you’ve got to prove who’s going to be wrong or right. Once you take those shares to the market and get a price for them, and I say that would be very difficult, but once you get a price for them then it will be proven who’s right and who’s wrong.”