When residents of central Hove were consulted on a proposed residential and pay-and-display parking scheme, thousands responded.

Results revealed 47 per cent of residents were in favour of the council's scheme and 51 per cent were against it. Businesses were opposed to it by a majority of almost three to one.

Yet, at a meeting of Brighton and Hove Policy and Resources Committee earlier this week, the Labour majority agreed to proceed with the controversial plans that will introduce parking permits for many residents.

Now, Liberal Democrats have decided to hold their own referendum in central Hove to make public feeling known to the council.

The Campaign for a Better Brighton and Hove has distributed 5,000 leaflets around central Hove pouring scorn on the council's decision.

Campaign chairman Russell Hicks, a vocal critic of the council on this and many other issues, was at the meeting.

He said huge amounts of money had been spent on the consultation and added: "It was close, but a majority is a majority.

"The damaging long-term effects of this policy are fairly obvious to anyone. If an economic-impact assessment had been carried out, it would have been brief and simple.

"Further draconian parking restrictions in Hove will have grave consequences for the area."

Mr Hicks said the council had been guilty of an outright disregard of democratic procedures.

Asked whom he represented, Mr Hicks pointed out that Campaign had 1,500 members in the Brighton and Hove area.

Campaign member and estate agent, Mike O'Connell, from St James's Street, asked: "How can a council carry out consultation and then ignore it?"

He claimed that the authority had also gone against public opinion on other issues, including redeveloping the King Alfred Leisure Centre and narrowing the width of St James's Street.

Mr O'Connell said: "I believe in democracy. If the vote went against what I believed in, I would accept it."

Deputy Tory Opposition leader, Brian Oxley, said in the past the council had ignored public opinion on a parking scheme for Kemp Town and defied the wishes of hundreds of people over proposals for land next to Brighton station.

He said: "The more this happens, the more the council makes a rod for its own back. It's not good for the long-term health of democracy.

"It is a case of consult and ignore. The council is riding roughshod over what people want. You can't treat people like this. It builds up resentment.

"The Labour leadership keeps getting into a mess and pursues its policy at all costs."

There are disputes over the true level of public feeling concerning these issues.

A wide-ranging survey over the redevelopment of the King Alfred Leisure Centre found a majority of people in favour, although those living near the centre were strongly opposed.

In Kemp Town, initial consultation produced a favourable response, but hundreds of people barracked councillors at a public meeting in the town hall, forcing the introduction of the scheme to be postponed.

A council survey found people were equally divided over the station scheme, but with many organisations in favour. A survey carried out by Brighton Urban Design and Development (BUDD), the pressure group opposing the development, found nearly everyone against it.

Even over the Hove scheme, the issue is not clear-cut. Although the questionnaire produced a narrow majority against the scheme, a smaller market-research-sample survey found a 16 per cent majority in favour of it.

Environment cabinet councillor John Ballance said the decision to go ahead had been taken after mixed results over consultation. Detailed findings showed some roads strongly in favour and others strongly opposed.

Alterations were being considered in some of those streets to see if the scheme could be improved.

Coun Ballance said many of the objections were about payment, which was why the council was proposing to introduce the scheme with lower charges in the first year.

He added, another survey had shown public opinion strongly in favour of the council taking over parking enforcement from the police, in the hope of reducing illegal parking.

Before this could be approved by the Government, the council had to demonstrate that it had proper parking schemes in place.

Coun Ballance added: "Public consultation is an important part of the decision-making process, but should not be considered in isolation from other important factors such as transport policies."

He pointed out that only last year, voters in the local elections gave a clear majority to Labour for policies, including its transport strategy.

Brunswick and Adelaide ward councillor Paul Elgood, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has organised yet another survey.

Questionnaires will be delivered to Hove homes and businesses this weekend, to give them a 'final say' on the parking scheme.

He said: "We want this survey because the scheme would change the lives of locals and visitors.

"The least the council can do is give the final say to residents and businesses."