Sixteen months of work behind the scenes to boost tourism has been shelved by Swale council’s Cabinet, it is claimed.

Three members of the Scrutiny committee led by Ukip’s Cllr Mike Baldock put together a detailed report containing 16 recommendations.

These included investing £25,000 on marketing, identifying better coach parking, more brown tourism signs – especially on main routes, and establishing a £3,000 challenge fund for new activities and events.

Cllr Baldock (Borden and Grove Park) said he was determined to see what could be done to boost visitor opportunities and launched a task group to find out.

He added: “The council accepts it has let these slide for years. It has been badly overlooked. But it is worth millions – particularly on the Isle of Sheppey, with its award-winning beaches and holiday parks.”

He teamed up with independent Cllr Mike Henderson (Priory) and the Conservatives’ Ben Stokes (Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow) to interview local organisations. There was also a visit to Clacton.

But when the leisure and tourism review was presented to the Cabinet last month, it was merely noted and set aside.

Cllr Baldock was told a separate visitor-economy strategy was being worked on.

He said: “I was furious the cabinet could just dismiss what we had done without any debate. It was a good report and its recommendations will benefit the whole of the borough.”

He revealed much of the report had been done in councillors’ own time, without paying consultants.

At the meeting, Cllr Mike Cosgrove, the council’s spokesman for regeneration and leisure, said the scrutiny committee had worked hard and the report was a “significant and well-considered piece of work”.

He added it was only an interim response pending the release of the full visitor-economy strategy in March. The strategy for the next three years is scheduled to be signed off in July.

A council spokesman said: “Cabinet received and noted the scrutiny recommendations. These will help inform the forthcoming visitor-economy strategy being prepared to help us try to make sure the borough benefits as much as possible from the economic benefits of tourism.

“Scrutiny members should also be involved in this process through stakeholder consultation, which will make sure the final strategy takes account of as many informed views as possible.”