A 'historic' row has erupted over Bradford Council's handling of plans for a new reception area at its Grade I listed City Hall headquarters.

Members of the authority's influential regulatory and appeals committee are angry at the lack of information they have been given about the project.

A new main entrance at the listed building is now on the drawing boards, with officials hoping to move it away from the cramped west entrance to the larger unused corner at the junction of Channing Way and Norfolk Gardens.

Committee members were asked to approve the plan earlier this month and it would then have been considered by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott before going ahead.

But councillors deferred any decision because there was so little detail in the plans they saw - and with preliminary work already beginning they say they still haven't been told what the changes will be.

Councillor John Cole (Lib Dem, Baildon), who attended the meeting, admitted: "We deferred it because of the inadequacy of the presentation."

But fellow committee member Councillor Chris Greaves (Con, Wharfedale) went further: "The reason we deferred it was because we were not given any information - all that was produced was a block plan showing the relationship of City Hall to everywhere else, and we knew that already because we were in it at the time.

"We would have had more information for an application for a dormer window or a house extension, so we certainly want it for City Hall."

He added: "This is the most important building in Bradford and just to say that we would 'mess around' with it did not seem sufficient information. When it comes to listed building consent everything should be made quite clear on the plans."

A Bradford Council spokesman denied the delays and lack of detail had been due to failures in getting approval for the changes to the listed building.

He said: "There was no delay in submitting an application for listed building consent. This will go before committee next month.

"The application initially went before the committee on August 4. Councillors deferred a decision and we have provided them with further information.

"The only work that has been started is preliminary work and no building work on the new reception area will start until we get listed building consent."