DARTMOUTH’S cash strapped tourist information centre has dramatically closed, blaming the town council for lack of support.

Doors to the centre unexpectedly closed on Tuesday after months of speculation over the future of the award-winning operation.

The TIC’s board of directors said it was left with no other option after a plea for grant support of up to £20,000 from Dartmouth Town Council was not agreed on Monday night.

But town mayor Cllr Rob Lyon has strongly defended the town council’s position on supporting the TIC and says it is wrong to lay the blame at its door.

Many town councillors are also angry and upset at postings which have since appeared on the TIC’s Dartmouth Every Time Facebook page, which are inaccurate and misleading.

The TIC is a private company, Dartmouth and District Guide Ltd, run by its four directors Angie Cairns-Sharp, Hilary Bastone, Nigel Way and Christopher Woodwark.

For months the centre has warned it was facing huge financial pressures and could not afford to continue unless it received cash support from the town.

Competition from the internet, overheads at the centre and a wage bill believed to be in the region of £60,000 a year are all thought to have contributed to its collapse.

A crowd funding appeal earlier this year failed to bring in any large donations and the TIC turned to the town council and the Business Improvement District for financial support.

At a meeting on Monday, Dartmouth Town Council reiterated its firm support for tourism in the town but warned it could not continue to throw public money at the TIC’s failing business model.

Council grant support for the TIC of £3,000 had already been agreed this year and councillors said a further £3,000 may be forthcoming following the setting up a working party to take the tourism project forward.

But less than 24 hours after the meeting, the TIC shut its front door and put up a closed sign at its premises next to Mayor’s Avenue car park.

A notice on the door reads: ‘Following the Dartmouth Town Councils [sic] decision last night not to support the TIC it is with deep sadness and regret that we have made the difficult decision to close the TIC Visitor centre with immediate effect.

‘We will continue to honour our agreement with our subscribers to produce our Dart­mouth Guide and maintain and manage the Dartmouth Every­time website.’

The TIC board of directors said it had not yet reached the stage of going into administration but ‘something had to give’ and it had taken the very difficult decision to close with a heavy heart.

The directors said they were ‘staggered’ at the outcome of the town council meeting.

‘We are very disappointed,’ they said.

‘We stressed to the town council that time was of the essence and that we cannot afford to continue as we are.

‘We bitterly regretted having to shut the centre but cannot carry on running it and keep the Newcomen Engine House open without financial help.’

Staff hours at the TIC had been cut back to try to produce a new business model, though the bulk are volunteers, they said.

‘Now the centre will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

‘We cannot run a point of free service for the town without backing.’

The board said the centre had faced increasing difficulties and pressures in recent years, such as competition from the internet both locally and nationally. But it had worked hard to be recognised in the South Hams and throughout the West­country for its quality of service and products.

Costs had remained static for three years but income had fallen, they said.

Mayor Cllr Rob Lyon said the town council was very sad and distressed that the TIC had shut but all would be done to rescue the town’s information office.

He stressed the town council was not to blame for the closure and defended its position on how finance was allocated and its record on supporting the TIC.

‘We have always supported the TIC financially with a grant every year but funds are limited in this day and age,’ he said.

‘Their venture into retail to a much larger extent makes it difficult to support, since the council can’t be seen to help one retailer over another.

‘The notice on the TIC door is inaccurate and very misleading.

‘Councillors voted unanimously on Monday to support the tourist service and a meeting will now be held with the TIC, the BID and Business Forum to establish a way in which the information centre can remain in Dartmouth and be funded adequately.

‘We are aware that competition from other markets, such as the internet, has lost the TIC a sizeable share of its market in recent years, leaving them unable to compete and making it at the moment unsustainable.

‘But it is our shop window and we must do all we can to save it. Everybody wants what is best for the town and I am confident we can look forward to a bright future.’

Cllr Richard Rendle said to accuse the town council of not supporting the TIC financially was a ‘pack of fibs’.

‘This is another example of the town becoming dysfunctional and fractionalised,’ he said.

‘We were in favour of the TIC getting a grant of £3,000 this year and a further £3,000 was earmarked for 2016/17, subject to the findings of the proposed working party.

‘The council was led to believe that the TIC had until next year to turn things around and had no idea closure was imminent.

‘It would have been helpful if TIC director and district councillor Hilary Bastone, who was at Monday’s meeting, had made this clear, but he said nothing. This is very sad for Dartmouth.’

Cllr Francis Hawke said it was ‘disappointing’ the TIC was blaming the town council, which had always supported tourism in Dartmouth. He added: ‘The town council cannot throw council tax payers’ money at a failing business model.’

He said the town council received many requests each year from organisations for financial support and nearly £20,000 was given in grants. But the town council could not provide grants to the TIC for its retail operations, only to tourism in general.

‘I believe the town council had a very good debate regarding the TIC and put forward many positive ideas on how the TIC can be restructured to become a viable operation,’ he said.

However, district and county councillor Jonathan Hawkins said he was surprised the town council had not offered more financial help.

‘To lose the award-winning TIC would be a tragedy for Dartmouth and I am surprised the town council has not increased their grant support to them,’ he said.

‘The TIC has been making its financial position clear to the town council for the past six or seven months in the hope it would come good in the end.

‘It has to be saved and hopefully the BID will now come forward with financial help.’

Dartmouth Business Forum chairman Paul Reach reiterated a call for the town council to offer the TIC an interest-free loan to keep it going, on condition it implements a fundamental restructuring of the TIC business model.

‘I still say the TIC is vital to the town as a visitor centre, but they must look to the Business Improvement District to take on responsibility for marketing Dartmouth, as the BID has the budget to do it, and a mandate to market Dartmouth from the BID vote,’ he said.

‘My big concern now is that if the TIC ceases to trade then the ownership of the Dartmouth everytime.co.uk website, their only valuable asset, will be up for sale, leaving the BID company in a very difficult position.

‘This is a situation that has concerned me for some time and has not yet been addressed by the BID board.

‘Clearly the staff of the TIC have been working so hard to survive but have reached breaking point and the council decision has pushed them over the edge, which is a great shame.

‘I have offered my personal support to the TIC based on my past experience in restructuring a few loss-making businesses but I hope it is not too late to help now.’

TIC director Nigel Way said he was confident a new venture would arise from the ashes.

‘But everybody will need to help each other,’ he said.

Mr Way, a former chairman of the TIC and director for over 10 years, ran into controversy when he tried to silence long- term critic and former town councillor Dave Cawley by putting up posters on polling day last may, urging people not to vote for him.

Mr Cawley, who is also a former chairman of the TIC, said this week that ironically, after the posters, he believed many town councillors had turned against the TIC.

He said: ‘When I took over the TIC in 2001 my fellow directors and I worked very hard to make it profitable and sustainable, and we achieved just that.

‘However, more than 10 years on, with spiralling staff costs and reckless spending, all our good work has gone to waste.

‘I have said before, to my cost, that throwing money at the TIC is not the answer but responsible management is.’

Mr Cawley said the council had offered the TIC a shop in the Butterwalk at a peppercorn rent but it had turned it down.

‘The town council warned that a total spend of £30,000 on a website barely better that their existing one, was not appropriate,’ he said.

‘They were told that a salary bill of nearly £60,000 on a turnover of under £100,000 was ludicrous, and that volunteers were the answer. The proposed wage bill reduction to £43,000 is also beyond belief.

‘Their current business plan is flawed and unworkable and created by amateurs.

‘Giving council tax payers’ money to a private limited company is not on, and in any case is a sticking plaster. They will be back next year.

‘The management, both at director level and staff level, is simply inadequate and amateurish. There are many, many things that need to change.’

Peter Conisbee, chairman of the BID, said: ‘The BID board will be meeting urgently to explore ways that we may help.’