VOLUNTEERS who have steered Watchet's tourism efforts for the past 14 years have yet to receive their only grant aid - £750 - more than three months into the visitor season. The band of unpaid stalwarts keep the town's tourist office on The Esplanade open for almost six months of the year. But spokeswoman Jean Howe said this year they had not received their annual grant from West Somerset District Council. She revealed the plight of the volunteers at a meeting of the Watchet Regeneration Partnership on Tuesday, at which the district's regeneration officer Pete Vallance outlined his hope of drawing up an action plan for tourism in the town. Mrs Howe said the tourism office received no other funding than the district council grant. "£750 is not a lot of money when you consider it has to cover printing, postage and duplicating. "We usually receive the grant in April but we are beginning to think we will get nothing this year." Mrs Howe said that in the past both she and her brother, Donald Tapp, had topped up the grant with their own money. But as she was now retired from business this was no longer possible. "The one thing we like to do for the volunteers is to give them an outing and a nice meal once a year as a thank you for all their efforts." District councillor Eddie May told the regeneration partnership that Minehead's tourist information centre was also still waiting to receive its annual grant from the authority. He said that since the district's tourism activities had been passed to the new organisation Visit Exmoor, it appeared both Watchet and Minehead had to put in a specific request. "I have been told they will get their money but it seems they have to beg for it now, which is not right. "I was told that the grants had been posted last week but they still haven't arrived so I don't know what is going on." The regeneration partnership agreed to back a request calling not only for the grant to be paid but also to be increased after hearing that the amount had remained unchanged for a number of years. Partnership member Tom Head said: "They should be getting more because things are going up all the time." Mrs Howe said the volunteers would be happy with the current level because they accepted they were providing a "temporary" service. "We know things are bitty at the moment and I am sure that we are not doing the job properly but we always said we would do it until Watchet had its own office with the regeneration of the East Quay or the Esplanade. "We know we are old fashioned but we are there seven days a week and we are happy doing it until the town gets something else."
