KEIGHLEY town councillors have unanimously accepted a raft of measures to address damning criticisms levelled at the council by auditors.

Councillors voted in favour of eight documents, including updated financial regulations, a corporate risk assessment, an asset register policy, and rules governing how financial activities are dealt with in Keighley Civic Centre.

They also agreed two action plans in response to a series of weaknesses and concerns identified by external and internal auditors, as well as additional training for councillors.

The updated financial regulations feature new restrictions to limit the way two council charge cards should be used in future.

The council will now have two cards with a limit of £250 each, which can only be used by the town clerk and the council's responsible financial officer to handle online purchases not subject to normal ordering methods.

This follows concerns that a town council charge card had previously been "misused".

Keighley town mayor Cllr Graham Mitchell said: "The council has a moral duty to accept these documents in order to respond to the auditors and lay a firm foundation for the new, incoming council."

Keighley Town Council has been the focus of fierce criticism in the wake of the publication of an external auditors report late last year.

The "report in the public interest", released by London-based accountancy firm PKF Littlejohn, highlighted many problems, including the lack of an adequate business plan for the council's civic centre project, the agreement of loans which the council had no powers to make and failure to keep a proper record of cash receipts.

It also warned that the council carried out financial transactions with family members of councillors or council employees without adequate safeguards.

Cllr Mitchell said the documents comprising the council's response to the auditors were drawn up through the hard work of the council's clerk, responsible financial officer, other council staff and a consultant hired to help complete the task.

Explaining the extra training which will be made available, Cllr Margaret Ward said it would be easier for councillors to attend, as the courses will take place in Keighley rather than out of town.

Responding to Cllr Gary Pedley, who asked if the training would be compulsory, she said: "I don't think we can force anybody.

"But I feel that if people are going to be councillors and are going to be on committees that require expertise in certain fields, it's in their own interest and the interest of the people they represent that they are trained."

Ingrow resident Elizabeth Mitchell, one of the parishioners who called for the external investigation into the council's 2012/13 accounts, said the council has still not proved that it is meeting auditors' requirements.

Commenting on the documents approved on Thursday, she said: "They are not evidence based – they are rules and regulations and agreements to do this or that.

"There has never been a shortage of rules and regulations at the town council – the problem I've had with them has been to do with compliance.

"The reason they got themselves into this mess in the first place was their failure to comply with the rules."