COUNCIL tax payers have criticised South Lakeland District Council after it distributed high street store gift vouchers to smooth along a consultation process.

Ten random members of the public were offered £10 Marks and Spencer gift vouchers to attend a meeting held at the Town Hall last Tuesday (July 31).

The meeting was held by a market research group on behalf of the council to gather public feedback on the Customer Access Project, which aims to improve council services by providing facilities such as unmanned street information kiosks.

However, the move has angered council taxpayers, who claim that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

One resident said: "I just think that it is a total waste of money. The council say that they cannot afford to hire a rat catcher but they can afford to give £100 away."

SLDC spokesperson Sheila Meades said it was normal practice' for the council to offer incentives to people when conducting market research.

"If we are going to do these projects then they are going to cost the council money and it (the distribution of the vouchers) is peanuts.

"We need to make sure that we are spending our money properly and we are only spending £100 on making decisions that will cost us a lot of money," she said.