BRECON and Radnorshire MP Chris Davies has jumped into the row about the future of Brecon’s Tourist Information Centre.
Powys Council is due to close the TIC this month and some of its function will be moved to the town library in Ship Street until the cultural hub Y Gaer is up and running and it is moved there later in the year.
Brecon town council has already said it is unable to keep the TIC operating at its present site because of the high commercial rent the council plans to charge for the premises when it starts letting them out from April.
But Mr Davies has come out in support of Powys councillor Iain McIntosh who last week argued that the cost of keeping the TIC open was something the council could easily manage with the money it receives as a precept from the council tax.
Conservative MP Mr Davies said the town council’s handling of negotiations with Powys council had been “extremely poor” and its failure to support the town’s TIC was “shocking”.
However the chairs of the Brecknock Society and the Brecknock Arts Trust have written to the Brecon & Radnor Express to say the town council’s efforts to keep the TIC open in its present form have not been fairly acknowledged and businesses in the town who benefit from the tourist service should be encouraged to come on board as part of any plan to keep the service running.
The two chairmen, John Gibbs and William Gibbs, also accused Powys Council of being “slow to provide operational information” about the existing service that would have helped Brecon Town Council pull a survival plan together.
Mr Davies said: “Brecon Town Council have led an extremely poor campaign to negotiate a deal with Powys County Council to take over the TIC. This centre is at the heart of Brecon and is used by tourists from across the world, having a positive financial knock-on affect to the wider Breconshire community. Tourism is key to our area and the failure to support it by Brecon Town Council is shocking.
“My (Conservatiove) colleague Cllr Iain McIntosh pointed out in last week’s Brecon & Radnor Express just how easy it would be for Brecon Town Council to take control of the centre. They have various choices they could make and seem reluctant to put the effort in to save the centre.
“Brecon town council have spent large sums on various projects such as the bandstand which are rarely used. Surely they should prioritise their spending to areas such as the TIC, which actually brings in revenue.
“I believe the council should explore any grant sources available to contribute towards the running costs of the building and approach the National Trust or private businesses in the area to sub-let part of the building from PCC. This will share the financial burden for Brecon Town Council. I will happily meet with any Brecon Town Councillors to discuss helping them work to save the Tourist Information Centre. To reduce the centre with little or no staff makes absolutely no sense. The current system works. Why change that?”
In their letter, John Gibbs of the Brecknock Society and William Gibbs of the Brecknock Arts Trust said: “Both the Brecknock Society and the Brecknock Art Trust take the view that current Powys CC plans for tourist information facilities at Y Gaer and Brecon Library, being largely self-help, would be significantly inferior to those provided by the existing tourist information centre… Any future tourist information centre in Brecon would almost certainly involve other partners working with the Town Council as lead. This would include some financial support from local businesses and the wider community in addition to Town Council funding.”
They go on to say: “Powys Council staff have been slow to provide operational information on the existing tourist centre to the Town Council, while pressing on with plans to let the building commercially from April 2018.The Scoping Group has reminded Powys CC of the requirement to assist the Town Council in assessing the options for maintaining an effective service.