MINEHEAD Town Council has dealt a bruising blow to an organisation charged with driving the regeneration of the seaside resort.

The Minehead Vision Group was set up in 2010 after the town was awarded £200,000 of Government funding to help turn around its flagging fortunes.

But this week the group, whose members include representatives from the public, private, community and voluntary sectors, received a vote of no confidence from town councillors.

A motion signed by five councillors had called for the council to withdraw totally from the group, claiming it was "not fit for purpose and does not reflect the views of the people of Minehead and the town council".

But instead, an amendment put forward by Cllr Oliver Harvey won the support of the majority of councillors.

In addition to the vote of no confidence, councillors are calling for talks to be held in a bid to resolve the problems between the council and the group.

Cllr Tony Berry, who signed the original motion and voted against the amendment, told a meeting of the council on Tuesday that he was saddened by the situation.

"I have always been a big supporter of people working together but I am very disappointed at how things have panned out with the vision group," he said.

Cllr Berry criticised the group, whose members include representatives from West Somerset Council, Somerset County Council, the Minehead Development Trust and Minehead Chamber of Commerce, for its lack of consultation on a range of projects.

He said the group had failed to create a clearcut vision for Minehead's future.

"We want inward investment and new businesses - the vision group has been going for four years and and there has been no initiative to bring in new business," he said.

"We want a long term plan."

Cllr Berry said the town council was the only authority or organisation that had achieved improvements in Minehead.

And he said the group had to accept that it was the town council which bore the responsibility for making decisions.

"I am moving this motion with reluctance but it's got to a point where things have got really bitter," he told the meeting.

Many councillors agreed with Cllr Berry and shared his concern that the group did not represent the views of the people of Minehead.

But some said withdrawing as a member of the group was too drastic a step.

Cllr Jean Parbrook said it was important that everyone worked together to try to resolve the issues: "We have to try and mend the bridges and move forward."

But Cllr Paul Grierson said he felt the council had been disenfranchised.

"The manner in which we have been spoken to by the vision group is terrible - we have been treated with total disrespect," he said.

"We are the elected authority and they have to learn they cannot dictate our agenda.

"Our responsibility is to our residents and they (the group) never consult the people."

Cllr Terry Venner said he had found it difficult to sign the motion.

But he said he was responsible for the residents of Minehead and he could not support the vision group's plans to spend money on town trails and apps when grass cutting, maintenance of key paths and the provision of toilets was being cut.

"People in my ward are having to go to food banks," he said.

"We need to get real - I know it is from a different pot of money but when money is short it has to be spent for the right reasons."

Some councillors called for the group to be disbanded and a new, more representative organisation created, less "weighted" towards the district council and the Minehead Development Trust.

But Cllr Roger Thomas, who represents the town council on the group and this week was elected its chairman, said a void would be created if the town council "walked away".

He said he took on board the criticism and understood the points made: "We need to make changes in the way the vision group operates in the future.

"I take on board the lack of communication and we will have to see how we can change things, how we can improve things and make it more inclusive."

Cllr Marcus Kravis said he had previously called for a fundamental re-think of the way the group operated because it had failed to come up with a vision for Minehead.

But he said although there were many issues that needed addressing, he believed the town council needed to engage with the group rather than withdraw from it.

At the start of the meeting, councillors heard from vision group members and representatives pleading for them to think again.

West Somerset councillor Karen Mills said it would be to the detriment of both the town council and its residents if the authority withdrew its membership.

She listed some of the group's achievements, from the appointment of a vision manager to the relocation of the visitor centre to the revamped Beach Hotel.

Cllr Mills highlighted the benefits of partnership working and "joined up" strategic planning.

"If you walk away, you will not be able to represent your residents," she warned.