Residents have called an immediate public meeting after an important council gathering was postponed.

The move comes after the mayor of Ripon moved the city council's annual meeting, which is open to the public and is traditionally seen as an opportunity for local people to air views and lobby councillors, from its usual date at the end of March to early May.

Now seven voters from the city have exercised their right to convene an immediate parish meeting, which is open to the public and where the issues can now be raised.

Campaigner Stanley Mackintosh, who has long been a critic of the authority, believes the date was intentionally switched so complaints could be avoided until after the local government elections in May.

Mr Mackintosh said: "Perhaps some city councillors got cold feet about facing the electors before the May elections in what is a statutory public meeting with real teeth."

He intends to confront the city council over an incident involving wine for a Christmas function in 2000.

The row started when Ripon resident Bill Robson accused two councillors of travelling to France to buy wine that they then sold at the council's Christmas dinner.

No criminal charges were brought, but Mr Robson's campaigning led to the district auditor questioning the council's accounting methods.

Mr Robson raised the issue at last year's parish meeting, but says there is no mention of it in the minutes of the meeting published for approval next week.

Mr Robson said: "The minutes are supposed to be a true record of the meeting - I am disgusted."

The council's clerk, Yvonne Covell, who is responsible for producing the minutes, said minutes of council meetings were a record of decisions and not discussions that take place during meetings.

The parish meeting takes place in Ripon town hall on Friday, at 7pm, with the hall booked for Monday, April 8, for any business carried over.

Other items on the agenda include the closure of Lark Lane post office, free disc parking for Ripon city centre, the parish precept, road works, and road safety issues at the new Cathedral Primary School