PROPOSALS forming part of a public consultation to ask Keighley people about the future of the town's civic centre triggered heated exchanges at Keighley Town Council's annual meeting.

Councillors were asked to accept two recommendations, one saying that each councillor should give out and collect 50 consultation questionnaires and the other asking each councillor to put up two consultation posters in their ward.

Both recommendations were rejected. Commenting after the first was turned down, proposer Cllr Michael Westerman said: "In light of what's been said I want to withdraw this [second proposal] because it seems councillors think it would be too much work for them."

But Cllr Amjad Zaman responded: "I'm not here to be insulted by anyone."

Earlier during yesterday evening's (May 26) meeting, Cllr Westerman had explained that his Civic Centre Strategy Committee wanted each of the 30 town councillors to be responsible for giving out 50 questionnaires about what should be done with the civic centre.

He said these were intended for parishioners who do not have the means to complete the consultation online.

Cllr Westerman said each councillor would then have the job of collecting the questionnaires – once they had been filled in – and returning them to the town council office.

The proposal immediately faced stiff opposition, with Cllr Corkindale asking how he and his colleagues are expected to know which people in their ward are without Internet access, so unable to fill out the questionnaire online.

When Cllr Westerman said the exercise would be a good way of encouraging every councillor to get active in their ward, Cllr Corkindale said: "I don't need you to teach us how to suck eggs."

Cllr Zaman said: "I find this proposal ludicrous, and almost Orwellian.

"Who is going to police it if a councillor is unable to give out and collect all 50 questionnaires?

"This doesn't make any sense and I don't know why it's been brought to the chamber tonight.

"This is an important exercise but it can't be forced on any councillor here. I can't support it because it goes against democracy."

Cllr Gary Pedley suggested it would be wiser not to put a precise number on how many questionnaires each councillor should deliver and collect.

He said it would be better to ask councillors to simply give out as many of these documents as they can.

Cllr Westerman warned that if the questionnaires are just left at people's homes and never returned this would be a waste of the money which has been spent on producing them.

Cllr Barry Thorne said the idea was "laudable but not practical", while Cllr Ian Dermondy said it should be sent back to the Civic Centre Strategy Committee for a rethink.

In the subsequent vote this proposal and the separate recommendation asking councillors to put up consultation posters in their wards were rejected.