At next weeks Full Coucil meeting I will be proposing a motionb that the council continues to have a dedicated Tourist Information Centre in Durham City.

At the same meeting a petition of over 7000 names will be put to the council by a resident, completely non-political.

It is clear to me that to scrap the TIC is one of the most short sighted things the Labour Council has ever decided to do.

At last nights Area Action Partnership,  even Labour members voiced concerns over this and called on the council to retain a dedicated TIC.

The proposal I will be putting forward with Cllr Stoker next week will offer a solution which is that the TIC should be moved to the Town Hall Foyer, where until some years ago it was anyway. A staffed facility here will cost very little to the council and is absolutely affordable.

The ludicrous position we will face in a few months is that a World Heritage Site City, Capital of the County will not have a Tourist Information Centre. I honestly believe that the decision by Labour to do this was done in haste, without proper consideration, and that there is still time to pull back from this and support a proposal which will ensure that visitors, businesses and residents will still have a world class service instead of not one member of the 21 Tourism staff being face to face with the public on a daily basis.

Come on Durham County Council and Labour councillors, recognise that scrapping the TIC is a mistake and that we can still afford to offer a facility for our great City.