A COPY of the South Wales Argus was waved in a Gwent council chamber during a discussion over a proposed £400 million development scheme.

It happened after veteran Gwent politician Graham Powell (pictured) accused colleagues of standing in the way of the creation of thousands of new jobs for school leavers and redundant steelworkers.

Councillor Powell claimed the jobs could be lost with Monmouthshire county council's refusal to enter into a joint agreement with the proposed developer of a 1,000 acre site near Caldicot.

P & O Developments want to build a £400m science and business park, and possibly houses, on a triangle of scrub and farm land between Magor, Rogiet and Caldicot.

The developers say they have the support of the University of Wales College, Newport, for the project aimed at creating a "hothouse" for science-based entrepreneurs. Councillor Powell told the council that the 7,000 jobs promised by the developer would help replace those lost in Corus, Rank Xerox, in the Forest of Dean and Alcatel in Newport.

He said hundreds of people living in Caldicot, Undy and Rogiet had been or would be affected by these redundancies.

And he called on the council to reject a decision made by the cabinet last month and instead to enter into negotiations with P & O Developments.

Councillor Powell, who represents Caldicot, said: "When the plans come in, it will be referred to the National Assembly who have an independent view. Government policy is that any development that provides more than 100 jobs is not turned down."

Fellow Caldicot councillor and deputy Labour group leader Mike Smith, who waved the copy of yesterday's Argus, said he resented the remark by Councillor Powell in the article that anyone who opposed the scheme was an idiot.

Councillor Smith said: "I resent being called an idiot. In April 1998 this council came to a decision about this scheme. Go and ask residents if they are happy that 4,000 houses could be built on an area designated as green space by the council."