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Published:
February
5,
2010
District
council's £28k pledge to Burnham Tourist Centre welcomed
Councillors in Burnham-On-Sea have today (Friday) welcomed the
news that Sedgemoor District Council is to contribute £28,000
towards keeping the cash-strapped Tourist Information Centre open.
Burnham-On-Sea.com reported
earlier this week that Burnham and Highbridge Town Council
had agreed to commit £50,000 to 'throw a lifeline' to the
seafront centre and, now, Sedgemoor decided to contribute a further
£28,000 to keep it open for the next financial year from
April 2010 to March 2011.
The
working party that was set up at a meeting last
month will look at ways of finding a permanent solution to
ensure that the centre is retained in Burnham for the benefit
of the local tourism industry.
 Cllr
Neville Jones, pictured above outside the centre, added: "I'm
very pleased that Sedgemoor is showing some commitment to this
project and am delighted that they are giving £28,000 towards
keeping this vital facility open alongside the Town Council funding."
Cllr Anne Fraser, Sedgemoor's portfolio holder for Strategy and
Business Services, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "I am very pleased
that Sedgemoor District Council has managed to work with the Town
Council to deliver a tourist service in Burnham-On-Sea for this
year."
"It
is sad that we have had to take these steps, but it is the reality
of our funding situation. I hope that the working party will be
able to come up with a long-term solution during the coming months
to make sure that this excellent service can continue into the
future."
Town
Council Clerk Eileen Shaw added: "The only way that the Tourist
Information Centre can be sustainable in the future will be with
considerable assistance from the tourism industry itself and a
dedicated group of volunteers who have the welfare of the town
at heart. The financial contribution from the Town Council is
a 'one-off' and any additional contributions to the running of
the centre in future years is entirely dependent on the outcome
of the deliberations of the working party and would require a
further resolution from the Town Council."
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