A bitter row over whether a Pipe Band Championship should be held in Newtownards or Bangor has split the DUP and Ards and North Down Council down the middle.
An argument at the monthly meeting of the full council on Wednesday, October 26, saw a proposal passed to invite the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association of Northern Ireland to address councillors on their preferences for a venue for the County Down Pipe Band Championship.
As a result DUP Newtownards councillors were involved in rancorous exchanges with their own party colleagues who represent Bangor district electoral areas. The Newtownards representatives voted against the proposal, stating it was an attempt to row back on an agreement made before Covid to rotate the championship venue on alternate years between Newtownards and Bangor.
