Closure of tourism offices would be 'mutilation of joy', claims Visit Somerset chair
Somerset Council have been laying out their proposals amid their financial emergency
Plans to close two tourism offices in Somerset have been branded a “manifesto for the mutilation of joy” by the chairman of Visit Somerset.
Somerset Council declared a financial emergency in early-November 2023 in the face of both a large projected overspend in the current financial year (around £18m) and a substantial budget gap for the next financial year (currently around £87m).
The council published proposals in early-January to balance the books, which includes significant cuts to local services – including the closure of the tourism offices within the Market House in Taunton and at the Cartgate site on the edge of Yeovil.
Giles Adams, chairman of Visit Somerset – which promoted tourism and tourists attractions across the county – has lambasted the proposals, arguing they will lead to fewer people visiting the county and thereby impact on the local economy.
The council predicts this proposal could save £167,000 by April 2025 – of which £114,000 will come from shutting the Taunton centre, and £53,000 from closing the Cartgate branch.
Mr Adams said he sympathised with the council’s financial predicament, but argued these cuts were not the best way to avoid declaring effective bankruptcy.
He said: “Somerset Council has a difficult job which has arisen from years of poor decisions at all political levels.
“The music has stopped and the current administration are the ones on deck who are having to take surgical decisions that call in to question our whole way of life for residents and the quality of experiences for visitors.
“However, the planned cuts to tourism and visitor services are ill-advised, particularly given the economic benefit this sector brings that is worth £1.3bn of the Somerset economy and provides more than 24,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
“When we were presented with the original alternative proposals for formation of a unitary council, I commented that while supposed amalgamation savings were apparently an opportunity, they should not come at the expense of the everyday joy that residents have in their lives as part of communities, arts, culture and recreation.
“This set of proposals, which misguidedly includes amongst others the closure of visitor information centres, town centre security cameras and public conveniences, just reads as though we should not go out, not spend on recreation, not stimulate economic activity but remain at home and pay our increased council tax.”
If the closure of the Cartgate site is implemented, the public toilets and the Cartgate Lodge Café will still remain open to motorists.
Mr Adams added that closing the centre would do little to persuade motorists to stop off in Somerset on their way to and from other parts of the south west.
He said: “It is a misconception that Visit Somerset owns tourist information centres. They are an integral part of stimulating visitor spend.
“For example, the loss of Cartgate Information Centre coincides with the dualling of the A303 at Sparkford – so we give the impression now that those travelling west are simply not required in Somerset and can be speedily conveyed onwards to Devon and Cornwall and spend their money there.”
The public consultation on the budget will close on Monday (January 22), with the responses being used to shape the final recommendations which will go before the full council.
After being reviewed by the audit committee on January 25 and the corporate and resources scrutiny committee on February 1, the executive will reconvene on February 7 – by which time a further update on the budget proposals will be available.
The final budget will be debated by the full council in Bridgwater on February 20 from 10am. Each of these meetings will be live-streamed via Microsoft Teams for those unable to attend in person.