Sirs,
I totally support the letters recently published by Dawn Wilson and Ian Mellor and as our economy slowly recovers we need every bit of advertising to attract visitors/tourists to Marlborough and Wiltshire. Our county depends on them and needs to sustain their visits.
Unless Wiltshire County Councillors along with Marlborough Town Councillors have expertise in tourist marketing then these easily cut costs will not be easy to replace with much needed tourism support.
Marlborough Town Council’s decision to withdraw annual membership of the Great West Way association is just non-sensical.. The cost of £2,100 is easily affordable and for the decision to be taken by Councillors ‘secretively’ with no local consultation is very concerning.
As a resident of Manton, Marlborough I feel our town has a great deal to offer visitors/tourists and local people but we need to expand our reach to attract new visitors – Marlborough College Summer School attracts many visitors from far and wide but I believe international visitor numbers are not as high as pre-pandemic.
When the Great West Way initiative was launched the signage approaching Hungerford was wonderful to see and a welcoming guide. I suggested to Marlborough Town Council that we needed to upgrade in the Town’s welcoming signs, perhaps replicating Hungerford’s signage – what happened nothing and our signage still needs an upgrade!
Wiltshire County is one of our country’s best kept secrets and we should be supporting tourism, hospitality, local businesses and places of interest at these difficult times not reducing our commitment.
Time for both Wiltshire County and Council and particularly Marlborough Town Council to think again, but I am not holding my breath.
Yours,
Colin Gratton
Manton, Marlborough
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