MORE than £25,000 may have been lost to the tourism industry in and around Watchet after a funding bid collapsed due to lack of interest.

Watchet Chamber of Trade chairman John Richards appealed recently for help to complete a bid for the funding, which could be used for new ideas to help increase tourism in the town.

But after only one volunteer stepped forward Mr Richards had to drop the £28,000 application because he did not have enough time to prepare and submit it.

Mr Richards said it would have been relatively simple to do and just needed a couple of ‘brainstorming sessions’ and enough local support for whatever project was adopted.

However, he said it seemed ‘everyone is just too busy’ and now a potential boost for the area’s economy had been missed.

In a last-ditch effort to pull a project together he had contacted the Watchet Coastal Communities Team but this also did not result in the necessary help.

Mr Richards said: “Sadly, I have had to advise the funding body that we are no longer interested in applying for the grant. We may not have got it, but now we will never know. Sad to possibly lose that much money for Watchet.”

Mr Richards said he planned to step back from much of his work for WACET after the annual meeting on April 27 and more help would be needed for the chamber.

A disappointingly poor take up has also been reported on the offer of free hanging baskets for traders in Watchet this year.

WACET made 40 baskets available but so far only about 20 had been reserved.

Mr Richards said: “We are providing the baskets and the plants free of charge, premises owners will need to sort out brackets and weekly watering as baskets are self-watering for about a week.”

He said suitable brackets were available for about £18 which needed to be fixed and insured by business owners.