CALLS were made for the resignation of the councillor in charge of education who told parents Townsend School would not be closed.

Bournemouth Borough Councillor Malcolm Davies has been lambasted for going back on his word by supporting moves to close Townsend Primary School after assuring parents that "closure was not an option".

At a special council meeting held to discuss the "flawed" consultation over possible options for the school, independent councillor Anne Rey suggested Cllr Davies step down.

Cllr Rey said: "Cllr Davies has gone back on his word and should do the honourable thing and resign.

"I am ashamed to be part of this council. We are living under a dictatorship in this council.

"I am disgusted."

Her speech was followed by applause from people from Townsend estate, who had arrived for the 9.30am meeting in a special bus.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Claire Smith said: "The consultation started with Cllr Davies saying closure was not an option so it started from a flawed position."

At a public meeting during the consultation period, when parents referred to a story in the Daily Echo saying the school could close, Cllr Davies told people not to believe everything they read in the paper.

Cllr Smith argued that the council should re-run the consultation over the school's future, rectifying some of the mistakes made during the first consultation, which were identified by the panel.

She said the special panel, which discussed the consultation process had found some "disturbing facts" relating to the distribution of documents, incomplete information and a failure to count some responses.

She said another consultation was necessary to restore trust in the council.

Cllr Davies said that as well as distributing documents, a total of 12 hours had been spent on public consultation, although the council was not required by law to hold a consultation.

After the meeting Cllr Davies said he did not intend to resign and denied that his statements would have been confusing for parents and others involved in the consultation.

Cllr Davies said: "This was the right decision by the council.

"The school has been failing for two years."

He dismissed the call for his resignation as "people playing political cards".

He said: "When I said closure was not an option it was not an option at that particular time."

The council voted 21-17 to take no action on the concerns of the scrutiny panel about the integrity of the non-statutory consultation exercise carried out on the options for the future of the school.

This means that rather than re-running the first consultation, a period of statutory consultation will begin in January on the council's preferred option of closure, and it is likely that the school will close at the end of the summer term.