A COUNCIL awards evening is being boycotted by an opposition councillor because he says it is inappropriate during the economic gloom.

The £20,000 Stars Awards Ceremony, at Garon Park, takes place on Friday and celebrates achievements by council staff, with about 350 awards for the best workers and projects.

But Lib Dem councillor Ric Morgan has written to the party group leaders saying he refused the invitation to the “glitzy” event, as a matter of principle.

He said: “It is a glitzy night out for councillors and senior officers – the invitation was printed on gold card.

“I went to my first one as a councillor three years ago and walked out never to return.

“This year’s presentation evening is particularly inappropriate in view of the Government spending review and our employees’ jobs being under threat.

“It is my belief this kind of artificial inspiring is both ineffective and expensive and that we can make drastic cuts to human resources and things like that without affecting services to our residents.”

A council spokesman said there was no cost to the tax payer and the event was paid for by a group of sponsors.

Nigel Holdcroft, council leader, said: “As with any excellent organisation we regard our people as being our most important asset. It is even more important in these difficult and uncertain times to acknowledge those members of staff who go the extra mile in their daily work.

“The cost of staging the event is met entirely by the generous support of a large group of sponsors.”

The Stars event used to be held at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff, but faced controversy when it was revealed it cost £37,000 to stage back in 2008.