A DEBATE is to take place next week on whether a cash-strapped council should have sent executives on a two-day team-building course.

Richmondshire District Council's senior officers were under fire on Monday after it emerged 11 of them spent last Thursday and Friday as guests of Adrenalin UK at Aske Hall, near Richmond, North Yorkshire.

As well as the activities laid on by the new company, the council team spent two nights at The Morritt Arms, at Greta Bridge, between Richmond and Barnard Castle, with a debrief following on the Saturday morning.

The overall bill is understood to have come to more than £4,000 - prompting an angry response from some council tax payers.

In February, the same authority announced it would be adding 7.9 per cent to council tax bills in Richmondshire to help balance the books for the coming financial year.

A number of controversial charges have also been introduced across the district, including fees for the removal of bulky rubbish and for pest control on domestic premises.

Now Catterick's councillor, Tony Pelton, hopes to table a motion at a council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the trip.

He said: "I have asked for details of the officers who went on the trip and how the arrangements were made.

"I also want to know how much it cost, and if any elected members were involved in helping to organise the exercise."

Council leader John Blackie said he could see no reason why the council's staff should not benefit from the same training techniques used by "leading edge" firms from the private sector.