RESIDENTS in the tourist hotspots of Haworth, Saltaire and Ilkley have reacted with dismay at cost-cutting proposals to close their visitor information centres.

Bradford Council has already agreed to cut its tourism service budget by £172,000 – about a third – and had asked a consultancy firm to come up with potential ways to cut costs.

The firm, Team Tourism, has now put forward four options, which each involve shutting at least two of the district’s four visitor information centres.

Its recommended option is to close the centres in Haworth, Saltaire and Ilkley but keep open the one in Bradford city centre.

Haworth trader Nikki Carroll said it made “absolutely no sense” to close the village’s visitor information centre.

She said: “It’s a ludicrous proposal. I will do all I can to oppose it and would urge other people to make their views known too.

“The Council was very eager in its support of the Tour de France when that came through the district and was keen to build on the legacy, plus we’ve seen a surge in tourists since the BBC screened the To Walk Invisible Bronte drama at Christmas.

“Bradford Council should be doing more to promote tourism and bringing people into smaller villages, rather than focusing on the city centre.”

Ward councillor Rebecca Poulsen (Con, Worth Valley) said the proposal was “nonsensical”.

“The Haworth building is leased rather than owned by the Council which I suspect is a factor behind this,” she added.

“Haworth is where the tourists go and that’s where a visitor information centre is needed. It’s beyond belief that the Council would contemplate closing it.”

A Saltaire business owner said the closure of its information centre would be a blow to the village.

Caroline Seton, of Saltaire Sandwiches, said tourists often came to her Victoria Road shop to ask where the centre was.

She said: “A lot of people come into the shop to ask where the visitor information centre is.

“We need to keep it open. It would be a blow if it did shut.”

Cllr Anne Hawkesworth (Ind, Ilkley) said the tourist information centre was providing a valuable service to the town.

She urged people to look at Bradford’s consultation document and make comments on the proposals.

Figures show Ilkley is the most visited centre, followed by Haworth, then Bradford and Saltaire.

But the consultants’ report says it recommends keeping Bradford open, only if it can be reconfigured as more of a welcome centre, “helping to sell both the city and the wider area”. If this cannot be done, it recommends closing all four centres and using the whole tourism budget for marketing purposes.

A public consultation runs until March 5, at bradford.gov.uk/consultations.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, whose portfolio on the Labour-led Executive includes tourism, urged people to take part in the consultation but said she could not comment further at this stage.

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