CONCERN is growing that a cornerstone of the Ludlow economy will be damaged by Shropshire Council’s decision to further cut its tourism team.

Andy Boddington, who represents Ludlow on Shropshire Council, is deeply unhappy at cuts that include making a long serving tourism officer redundant.

The latest cuts follow the removal of all paid tourism staff from Ludlow where the Visitor Information Centre is now an entirely voluntary operation.

Visitors to the town are no longer able to book accommodation at the centre and the automatic mechanism for counting the number of tourists has been removed.

Cllr Boddington has poured scorn on a claim from Shropshire Council that it is continuing to invest in the sector.

“By ‘continue to invest’ it means that it is halving the number of tourism posts from two to one,” said Cllr Boddington.

“Shropshire Council is turning its back on tourism as an industry.

“Tim King, who is widely respected across the county and beyond for his work in promoting Shropshire , will be made redundant.

“This is penny pinching at the expense of Shropshire’s tourism economy.

“The remaining tourism position is set to be little more than a public relations post for the council’s own museums.

“The person appointed will have other duties, including liaising on tourism at a strategic level and helping raise funding, but the post is spread thinly across a lot of areas.

“Shropshire Council’s investment in the Visitor Information Centre in Ludlow has been decimated. Professional staff have taken redundancy and expertise has been lost.

“That seems always to be the case in Shropshire Council which seems not to value the expertise and experience of its staff. It is only concerned with their cost to its budget.”

Cllr Boddington says that the most recent statistic in 2005 showed that tourism generated £117 million to the economy of south Shropshire and supported 3,500 jobs.

“I am sure that the tourism economy has increased since,” he added.

Shropshire Council directly supports a visitor information service in Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth but not in Ludlow or Church Stretton.

But Shropshire Council says that it is continuing to support tourism in a more strategic way by developing local partnerships. It says it is responding to anticipated further cuts in support from central Government.

Investment into its museums, archives, theatre and outdoor recreation services will continue, all of which form a vital part of the visitor’s experience to Shropshire.

“Tourism is a significant and important sector within the Shropshire economy. However, unfortunately reductions in funding mean we have to make very difficult choices about prioritising the work we do,” said Steve Charmley, deputy leader of Shropshire Council and cabinet member responsible for tourism.

“This doesn’t mean that we will not promote Shropshire as a visitor destination because we will.

“Through the proposed new post we will continue to support the sector at a strategic level and will ensure Shropshire benefits from any new strategic funding opportunities.”