THE district auditor has been asked to intervene in Richmondshire District Council's handling of legal action against Croft motor racing circuit.

Coun Jane Parlour, who backs a residents' campaign for less noise from the track, branded a decision to seek further legal advice an unnecessary waste of public money.

She has also written to the local government ombudsman calling for an investigation.

However, Coun John Blackie, who proposed the resolution, said the second opinion - likely to cost about £2,000 - was necessary to ensure the council's case in the noise abatement action was watertight.

Coun Parlour, who represents the Dalton ward, accused Coun Blackie of a "back door attempt to scupper the whole proceedings" following a meeting in private of the environment urgency sub-committee on Thursday of last week.

"Certain members of the council appear to be looking for a way of pulling the plug on the whole thing," she said.

The council served a noise abatement notice on the circuit operators and a hearing into their appeal is due in November.

Coun Parlour said: "I have no doubt this second opinion will concur with the legal advice we have already got, so I see this as a complete waste of council taxpayers' money. I have written to the district auditor and the local givernment ombudsman to investigate this."

It was a matter of record that officers of the environment unit had said there was a statutory noise nuisance at the circuit and the council was obliged to take action.

But Coun Blackie said the authority did not have to take or continue noise abatement action if it could not be reasonably sure of success.

"In examining the evidence the district council is to put forward in support of the noise abatement notice, it became obvious that some of the evidence that hitherto we thought could be relied upon was, in fact, possibly not reliable," he said.

"The extent of that evidence is such that members were concerned that our case may well be flawed. It was felt important to seek that second opinion to see if another, more eminent, counsel may be able to review the full background and give an opinion as to the likely outcome."

A flawed case, resulting in failure at the court hearing, would cost the public purse more than £2,000, he said