COUNCILLORS in Stockton have agreed to spend more than £700,000 on setting up a call centre, despite protests by opposition groups.

Stockton Borough Council is to put £733,000 over the next three years into the new access service.

The initiative was challenged by the council's Conservative group, supported by Liberal Democrat councillors and members of the Ingleby Barwick Independent Society (Ibis) and Thornaby Independent Association (Tia).

The Lib Dems and independents also proposed that £45,000 of the £190,000 set aside for the call centre from next year's budget would be better spent on an out-of-hours service for dealing with complaints.

Tory leader Councillor Ken Lupton said: "Call centres, generally, have a bad reputation, and I think we should go into it in more detail, and see how other local authorities fare before committing to it."

He also recommended that an out-of-hours noise nuisance prevention service be introduced, to help residents when they most needed it, as more than 1,000 complaints had been received this year.

Councillor Maureen Rigg, leader of the Lib Dem group, said money should also be spent on services dealing with homelessness and domestic violence, stray dogs and wild horses.

She said: "I was dismayed to find that the Labour group proposals for the budget included slashing money from what was needed to give greater support to such vulnerable people as those threatened with homelessness or domestic violence.

"Also, there is a clear need for a service - outside office hours - to deal with noise nuisance, especially at weekends."

Councillor David Harrington, spokesman for Ibis, told council members: "I certainly know the demand placed on the council outside office hours to deal with noise nuisance, especially at weekends.

"These are proposals which this four-star council should have backed, instead of establishing a call centre.

"The amendment would have helped people in need more than a kudos-driven call centre."

But council leader Bob Gibson defended the proposal to create a call centre, saying it had been before the council's cabinet twice, and had not been called in.

He added: "I was absolutely amazed and disappointed when there were moves by the Tories and Lib Dems to have this pilot project deleted from the budget."