Labour councillors have claimed their bid to gain a commitment to culture in Barrow has been blocked by the Liberal Democrat-run Westmorland & Furness Council.
The Labour group said it tried to table a motion for the next full council meeting on May 7, but was not allowed to do so.
The authority said the meeting, on May 7, was its AGM and procedural rules did not allow for the consideration of motions.
Barrow Market and The Forum will be demolished after structural issues were found.
The market was closed with immediate effect in February when traders were told to leave the building.
The Labour group’s motion, led by deputy leader Councillor Beverly Morgan, asked the council to commit unequivocally to a replacement theatre in Barrow.
The motion, which has been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, asked for the theatre to be of at least the same capacity, specification and public access as the Forum as well as no demolition of the existing site without a proper, published plan.
Cllr Morgan said: “It’s becoming increasingly frustrating for Furness residents that there is no clear council commitment to replacing The Forum and the market.
“If cabinet has made the decision to demolish these facilities then they should also be able to commit to what comes next, and share that openly with local people.
“Providing that clarity would help rebuild public confidence and allow people to engage more constructively with interim ‘meanwhile’ uses.
“As things stand the lack of direction is fuelling misinformation and putting both cultural activity and the local economy at risk.”
She added: “The Labour group intended to present our motion to full council in February but as that was the Budget meeting, which clearly states in the council’s constitution that motions are not included, we presented our motion two months later for the May meeting.
“This delay wasn’t ideal as local residents and groups were becoming increasingly more frustrated and wanted answers.
“We have now been told we can’t present our motion to the May meeting either which means that we will have to wait until the next meeting on July 30.
“Consequently, we have been excluded from presenting a motion about The Forum and the market to the council for all 65 councillors to consider for six months between the January and July council meetings.
“Motions are a tool that councillors can use to generate debate and to seek a council resolution, and we are being denied that opportunity. It is our democratic right to table motions but in this council it’s only for 6 months of the year apparently.”
A spokesman for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “The procedural rules for the annual council meeting do not provide for the consideration of motions.
“At its meeting in March, cabinet agreed the next steps on Barrow town centre transformation and these have been widely reported.
“This included phase one of the Heart of Barrow project for enabling works, including ‘meanwhile’ plans and activities to support the town centre economy and to help cultural organisations and businesses in the short-to-medium term while the long-term vision is developed.
“Westmorland and Furness Council and its partners in Team Barrow remain committed to working with the local community on those longer-term plans.”
Meanwhile, a firm has been awarded the first part of the £8m contract to demolish the Forum and market buildings.
The company has not been revealed, but was chosen in March.
At the meeting, Councillor Andrew Jarvis, cabinet member for finance, acknowledged that a town the size and importance of Barrow deserved to have a thriving theatre, arts scene and market.
The cost of repairing and renovating the market was £24m as of last year, and had probably increased after further deterioration, with the cost of renovating the Forum likely to be to the same order of magnitude, minutes from the meeting said.
However, specialists said it would not fully remove the issue of asbestos contamination, with the only way to achieve full compliance being through complete demolition and disposal.
Minutes said that would be at a similar cost, and the council did not have the financial resource to do either, although did add that Team Barrow had significant funding and aimed to transform that area of town.
Cllr Jarvis told cabinet that one particular bidder was preferred for the demolition job.
The committee voted to award the contract for the first part of the two-stage demolition, worth over £92,000, to the bidder, and delegated the decision for the second part, worth up to just over £7.9 million, to the director of resources and section 151 officer.
Funding will come from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
