Basildon has criticised other parts of south Essex for appealing against their ratings.
District councils across the country were graded as part of a performance assessment.
Basildon was graded as fair. But several other councils, including Castle Point and Rochford, have appealed against their results.
Tony Ball, cabinet member for housing, said: "We need to keep improving the services rather than looking inwardly. We should be looking at what we can do for the area rather than appealing for the sake of our image."
Published Monday July 12, 2004
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