CHAIRS on wheels received a big thumbs-down from councillors at their meeting in Tavistock last week when members discussed options in a leaflet for new seating in the recently refurbished council chamber.
Several suggestions were tabled to the properties committee by the town clerk ? to a cool reception.
Cllr Betty Batchelor said: ?In view of this beautiful chamber I am definitely not in favour of anything in these leaflets. These are purely office chairs and we as councillors are entitled to sit in comfort ? we need to be able to see the chairs and try them out.
?Some people here have back trouble, some are broader, some are narrower ? and you definitely need arms. We have spent a lot of money on this building ? I really feel this is not something we can decide in five minutes.?
Cllr Maxine Gibson said chairs with wheels would be dangerous and she envisaged councillors ?shooting off backwards?.
Cllr Mandy Govier said: ?I think chairs with wheels is asking for trouble in this chamber. We do have some more elderly members and frail people ? these are office admin chairs ? they are totally inappropriate.?
Cllr Brian Trew said the chairs would look ?absolutely appalling? in the council chamber and would only be appropriate for people with back problems if they knew how to adjust them correctly.
?Horrid, aren?t they?? he said.
The clerk was instructed to look further for appropriate council chamber seating, taking into account councillors? requests for wooden arms, some form of padded, rounded back and definitely no wheels.