WEST Somerset Council looks set to throw its weight behind Minehead Development Trust's bid to open a new visitor information centre in an empty shop in The Avenue, Minehead.

Hot on the heels of Minehead Town Council's promise of up to £14,000 for the proposal, the district council could also put forward up to £56,000 over the next five years.

At a special council meeting on Monday, district councillors will be told that specific money from prospective Hinkley C developer EDF Energy could be used to help fund the scheme.

Between £14,000 and £28,000 could be given in the current financial year, with more cash forthcoming in later years if necessary.

As reported in last week's Free Press, the trust's town centre tourism office won the support of the town council on condition it was also backed by the district authority.

The development trust was set up to try and turn Minehead's old hospital building into a community asset - including a new tourist information centre.

And following the sudden closure of the town's purpose-built, district council-run seafront visitor information centre last October, trust members submitted a business plan to provide a tourism facility in the town.

The trust has already secured an empty shop in The Avenue for the proposed centre and advertised for a manager, with a long-term view of moving the facility to the old hospital if it is converted for community use.

The trust, which is a registered charity and has members drawn from a wide range of organisations within the town, believes out-of-season use by the community is key to the survival of any tourism centre in Minehead.

"This precludes continued use of the seafront site where parking is limited; local people are more likely to use a town centre visitor information centre," trust chairman Jenny Lennon-Wood said.

The district council closed its flagship seafront centre last year when councillors decided they could no longer afford the £40,000 a year running costs.

All queries were diverted via Porlock's volunteer-run visitor centre until the volunteers pulled the plug on the arrangement, claiming their efforts were undervalued despite working extra hours to cope with the additional workload.

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