VISITOR information centres in the Cotswolds have been buoyed by news that Cotswold District Council will provide grants totalling £54,000 per year, over a three year period, to help fund them.

Members of the Cabinet agreed at a meeting on January 21 to continue funding for VICs in Bourton-on-the-Water (£24,000 per year), Chipping Campden (£10,000 per year), Stow (£10,000 per year) and Tetbury (£10,000 per year), as well as retaining the Cirencester-based VIC in the Corinium Museum.

Cabinet Member for Enterprise and Partnerships, Cllr Chris Hancock, believes that the VICs provide extremely good value:

“This is a massive vote of confidence in the local VICs. Even in an age when people rely more heavily on the internet to research destinations, we are still seeing heavy use of the VICs to the extent that – based on 2014/15 figures – it only costs 35p to service the needs of every customer. Given the much needed income that tourism generates in this area, I believe that this is a small price to pay," he said.

"Looking ahead, there are considerable opportunities on the horizon to build on the success of the local tourism sector, and maintaining a network of excellent VICs will enhance the visitor experience and help to ensure many repeat visits. Local residents also benefit as they often use VICs to find out what is going on.

“It made sense to fix the grants for a three-year period; we are giving the VIC operators more certainty about their funding in the longer term, and they can now plan ahead with confidence on issues such as negotiating rents for premises.”