CRITICISM of Richmondshire's tourism service by the audit commission was labelled disappointing, appalling and not worth the paper it is written on.

Officers, councillors and accommodation providers were dismayed the authority was rated only "fair" and "unlikely to improve".

The district economic, cultural and leisure committee said the report was riddled with inaccuracies and inconsistencies and left members disappointed and astonished.

Inspectors visited the district in summer to survey the tourism service under the government's best value regime, which places a duty on councils to deliver efficient services.

The resulting report highlighted some positive features such as willing and welcoming tourist information centre staff and the Yorkshire dales joint promotion initiative.

However, it identified several areas for action, including monitoring of customer satisfaction, staff training and regeneration of Richmond town centre.

Mr Darra Singh, northern region best value inspection service director, said: "The tourism service in Richmondshire is critical to the economic viability of the region but more could be done to develop the service further. It is evident that members and officers are committed to continuous improvement in the service, but to achieve this they must set themselves specific actions which are measurable."

Mrs Pam Whittaker, district tourism officer, told the ECL committee on Tuesday the inspection found few areas that the authority had not already identified for improvement and begun to tackle.

Coun Paul Cullen, chairman of Richmond town centre forum, said the commission's report was "appalling, riddled with inaccuracies and not worth the paper it is written on."

Coun Nigel Watson said many weaknesses highlighted appeared technical and minor. "When you see the rating of fair and unlikely to improve you think there must be something fundamentally flawed with the tourism system, which is not borne out when you read the report in detail," he said.

Coun James Kendall said the report insulted all tourism workers, including volunteer TIC staff and walking guides.

Coun John Blackie, committee chairman, won unanimous support for a proposal that members regarded the tourism service as good and were dissatisfied with the process and professionalism of the best value inspection service.

He outlined the successes of the tourism service, including the joint promotions initiative, a white rose award in 1998 and £8.7m of tourist spending in the district last year.

l Guides praised: page 5