By Jim Hollands
Rye Town Council have been criticised in some quarters for allowing the Hotel and Caterers Association to use the Heritage Building for running the Tourist Information Centre.
On close study of the facts it seems that the council had little choice, as the villains of the affair, Rother District Council, did not pull the carpet from under their feet by withdrawing £20,000 of the funding, until the eleventh hour.
The decision to let Kerry De Courcy, Chairman of Hotcats, set up a rescue package was, to my mind, a sensible move on the part of Rye Council. The use of the Heritage Building is initially for one year only, so the position can be reviewed in the light of results achieved at that time.
The staff will all keep their jobs and will be offering the same first class service. Last year a quarter of a million enquiries were dealt with. There can be no doubt that the centre is a great asset to the town and I believe the new company ‘Rye Town Services Ltd.’ set up by Hot Cats will move the facility on to even greater success in 2005.
Rye’s Own May 2005
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