BINGLEY'S brand new town council was formally sworn in tonight and promptly voted against the wishes of its first chairman by not creating a mayor, Councillor Terry Brown was unanimously voted in as chairman by his 15 colleagues.

"It's an honour - we're 16 councillors who don't yet know each other, and it only by working together that we'll achieve what we want for Bingley," he said.

On the question of whether that role should have the title of mayor, Cllr Brown said since the move to form the new body began two years ago, he had always supported the idea of a mayor, in the view it would raise the town's profile.

He was supported in that by Councillor Ros Dawson, but Cllrs Geoff Winnard and Joe Wheatley raised concerns it might give an impression of "grandiose" intentions which might open the fledgling council to ridicule.

Cllr Andrew Quarrie questioned if there would be a an immediate cost in having to insure what he called "the baronial chain".

"There are no delusions of grandeur and one point is that if a woman were to take the post, she would not have to be a chair"man"," Cllr Dawson responded‎.

The motion to have a mayor instead of a chairman was defeated by nine votes to seven.

Next, Cllr Dawson was elected as vice-chairman by a vote of eight to seven with one abstention.

A finance and general purposes commitee, a planning committee and a staffing committee were all duly elected.

It was agreed to take on an interim town clerk to work a maximum of 20 hours a week, to be reviewed after two months.

The first annual town meeting will take place on May 31, when items suggested for debate include the plight of Bradford Council's bare flowerbeds and the future of derelict council-owned buildings.

The meeting's venue will be announced imminently.