WEST Somerset's tourism industry could be successfully marketed through a stand-alone Greater Exmoor company working in partnership with both the public and private sectors.

According to a draft report produced for the West Somerset Tourist Industry Working Party by Exeter-based consultant Nigel Buckler, the region could easily promote itself without having to merge resources with officials in North Devon and Torridge.

Mr Buckler - appointed by West Somerset District Council to help tourism providers come up with an alternative to the council's favoured option of a merger - also claimed independence was the only way to ensure Exmoor was at the heart of any promotion.

He wrote: "This proposal [Greater Exmoor] is the only way of safeguarding the Exmoor brand. That brand is the greatest asset shared by any or all of the partners.

"It is greater than any organisation, any campaign, any external source of financial support, or any other proposal for the solus or shared promotion of the area."

He added: "A strength in this proposal is in its insistence on independence in the control of the development and promotion of tourism in Greater Exmoor.

"Only in this plan is there an assurance that the representation of Greater Exmoor will be the only concern of its promoters.

"Decisions will be made locally on the basis of sound marketing considerations unaffected by political bias and manoeuvring."

He envisaged setting up a non profit-making marketing company comprising of three members of staff - a full-time manager and marketing professional, together with a part-time office assistant.

They would be based in district council offices in Minehead and would answer to a six-strong board of directors comprising of representatives from West Somerset and North Devon district councils, Exmoor National Park Authority and three private sector directors.

The directors would meet six times a year and complement meetings held by the existing Exmoor Area Tourism Advisory Group and the annual general meeting of the new company.

Tourism providers would pay annual subscription rates to belong to the company which would vary according to the type and size of their businesses.

However, the average was likely to be £75, with a minimum of £50 and maximum of £200.

In return for their contribution, members would get a direct voice on how the region was publicised and be part of any promotional campaign carried out by the company.

Mr Buckler believed a Greater Exmoor company should specifically aim its marketing at the reasonably affluent, 45 plus age group, by initially using the current Exmoor Coast and Country guide and developing internet links.

The next step would be to form closer ties with the national park authority and its promotional guides and leaflets.

The report also disputed district council claims that the the Greater Exmoor option would be simply too expensive to maintain in the long-run.

At a meeting in July, council chief executive Tim Howes was met with large-scale opposition from the tourism industry when he proposed merging the marketing of the region with North Devon and Torridge.

He told councillors an independent Greater Exmoor company could lose out on all-important European funding to its bigger North Devon brother.

This in turn meant that the district council and local businesses could be faced with much bigger bills if they attempted to fund the stand alone option without European help.

But according to the draft business plan put forward by the working group, European funding was allocated on the basis of the quality of the bids put forward and not necessarily on the size of the area making the application.

Mr Buckler calculated it would cost £215,000 to set-up and run the company for its first year and was confident that money could be raised to finance the group without relying on European help.

Working on the assumption that the district council would give around £73,000 a year for the first five years having pledged that level of support for the North Devon merger, he hoped North Devon District Council would give in the region of £15,000 to support the businesses from its patch.

A further £15,000 would come from membership fees with the remainder being made up from advertising costs in printed and internet publications as well as from other contributions.

Mr Buckler said there was also scope to get more money from potential North Devon advertisers as only 44 of the 210 businesses advertised in Exmoor Coast and Country came from North Devon.

Chairman of the Exmoor Area Tourism Advisory Group, Richard Hunt, said he had only just received his copy of the draft report and as a result had only had the chance to read it once when he was contacted by the Free Press.

He said: "The only comment I can make at the moment is that it looks good and seems to be quite positive for the independent option."

Chairman of Minehead Chamber of Trade, Mike Padgett, who is also a member of the working party, said he was happy with the results of the report and praised Mr Buckler's hard work.

He said the document finally gave opponents to the merger a firm financial base to promote their case for Exmoor and West Somerset.

He added: "I am now going to ask members of the chamber to lobby their local councillors to vote in favour of this independent option.

"I still feel that we have a lot of fighting to do because some councillors still favour going into a consortium headed by North Devon."

He added: "It is up to us, the electorate, to convince these people to keep the independent option.

"Quite frankly, West Somerset District Council should be promoting tourism, their biggest source of revenue, in Exmoor and West Somerset and not assisting our friends in North Devon."

The findings of the report were also welcomed by the resort director of Butlins, in Minehead, Bryan Leaker, another working party member.

He had said from the start that he wanted West Somerset to have its own independent voice to market the region and recently met Tourism Minister Janet Anderson during her visit to the town.

He said he had since written to her saying how well her visit had been received by both the private sector and the district council and added: "I only hope that the district council recognises the importance of tourism in areas such as ours."

All members of the working party will get the chance to give their comments on the draft report to district council tourism officer Tim King before it goes before the September 4 meeting of the council's cabinet.

A final version of the plan will then be discussed at the full district council meeting on October 18.

If district councillors favour the independent option for Greater Exmoor, directors could be appointed in November, staff employed by February and the new company could be trading next April.