More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A petition to save cuts to the tourism sector and prevent the closure of information centres for visitors to Thanet has been launched.
Plans by Thanet District Council to close the information centre at Droit House in Margate were given a late reprieve after the authority secured an extension to its lease for the building.
The council had planned to shut the centre this month and while the closure is delayed for a year at least, jobs across the council's tourism department remain at risk.
The petition calls on council leader Bob Bayford and all councillors to rethink spending £3 million on new offices after funding was approved in the budget in March.
It is believed around half a dozen jobs could be lost under the council's cost cutting measures to plug a £1.8 million deficit in the budget for the next 12 months.
The petition, which has received around 100 signatures so far, is demanding the council "immediately rescinds its decision" affecting tourism staff and visitor information sites.
Campaigners say they want the money set aside to replace the council's offices in Cecil Street to be used to "protect services and staff" instead, calling the decision "short-sighted and detrimental".
The petition was set up by Labour candidates, Rob Yates and Helen Whitehead, standing for election in Margate to Thanet council in May with an online petition also being set up.
The council says while Droit House will not be closing as planned on April 22, a spokesman confirmed the authority is looking at ways to address "serious financial pressures" while ensuring tourism remains a "successful part of our local economy".
But they have not been drawn on matters relating to staffing levels and discussions about employees.
Meetings with Visit Kent are planned for the council to explore the options available.
Thanet's tourism economy is estimated to be worth £319 million with the latest figures from Visit Kent showing 4.2 million people came to the district in 2017.
The decision to allocate £3m for new council offices continue to draw huge criticism across the district.
But TDC says it has a responsibility to make sure its offices are "fit for both public and officer use" with the 1970s building beginning to "show signs of deterioration".
In a statement, a spokesman said: "This provision of £3m indicated in the budget is just that, a provision, rather than a confirmed total spend at this stage.
"We want to look at a range of potential decisions regarding the office building and this will include undertaking a full independent assessment of the most pragmatic options available to the council."
