TONIGHT at 5pm the elected members of Newport council will decide whether the authority should back a new city centre development with a £90 million loan.

The proposal, revealed exclusively by the Argus last week, prompted more than 110 comments on our website with spirited arguments for and against Friars Walk developer Queensberry being lent cash to fully build the scheme.

Tonight the plan, agreed by senior Labour councillors in a closed cabinet meeting last week, will be put to councillors at a full council meeting with at least one party having a free vote on the matter.

Despite group leader Matthew Evans’ statement that it was a "bold move", Newport’s opposition Tory group will tonight not be whipped, meaning they are free to vote however they feel.

Cllr David Fouweather, the group’s chief whip, told the Argus: “It’s a matter for each individual councillor to make their minds up on the issue.”

It is not known yet whether Labour councillors will be given a similar free vote, with the group meeting as the Argus went to press last night.

But there were little signs of any kind of rejection of the plan following a straw poll last week.

The Argus spoke to 27 councillors about their voting intentions – but a cross party group of 12 members told the Argus that they either hadn’t made their mind up, hadn’t seen the report on the issue or wanted more time to consider it.

Another cross-party group of ten said they would back it. One independent councillor, Noel Trigg, said they would abstain. The remaining four wouldn’t comment.

Not one councillor categorically said they would vote against the proposal.

Under the terms of the funding plan Newport council would borrow £90 million to loan to Friars Walk developers Queensberry, with the intention of the centre being built by November 2015.

Anchor store Debenhams has set a timeline of being open by Christmas that year, or Spring the year after – with senior council officer Sheila Davies saying it would be too risky to delay.

It is planned that no money from the council’s revenue budget will be spent on the scheme with the developers paying the cash back at a commercial rate of interest.

However a council report showed that, in a worst case scenario where Queensberry can't repay the money and the complex can’t be re-financed or sold on, the authority could be hit with costs of up to £7 million a year.

Tonight councillors will vote whether to approve a series of recommendations, including whether the head of finance at the council should be authorised to borrow up to £90 million for the funding agreement, and to authorise him and the head of law and standards to agree the terms of the funding agreement.

A group of senior councillors in Newport council's cabinet would also be granted delegated powers to agree outstanding financial issues.

FOLLOW our live blog of the crunch meeting tonight when Newport councillors will vote on the plan to loan £90m to the Friars Walk developers. Use #loandday to follow reporter David Deans and join in.