The future of Ashby's Tourist Information Centre will be discussed by North West Leicestershire District Council again this week.

Plans to close the facility permanently were debated earlier this month at the council's Corporate Scrutiny Committee meeting.

But the idea was met with strong opposition from Ashby-based district councillors who argued that the TIC could be kept open, with several options available.

And these are due to be addressed at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting in Coalville.

Tourist information centre closure plans are put on hold.

Cllr David Bigby suggested that volunteers could be used to staff the facility which was situated at the front of Ashby Library before the Covid pandemic broke out in March, 2020.

A petition was also started last year to show support for keeping the TIC open at a time when tourism is being encouraged in Ashby, which is seen a 'Forest Town' at the heart of the National Forest.

Local councillor backs campaign to save tourist information centre.

But, at the district council meeting earlier this month, Cllr Virge Richichi - who is also the chairman of North West Leicestershire District Council - said that the local authority had been doing 'nothing' for Ashby over the past five decades.

He said: "We've just let it slip.

"We have to try and learn from our past, when I was a teenager, Ashby was a wonderful place to go - but then it was controlled by Ashby Rural District Council who had one interest, and that was to control the surrounding area.

"Since then, North West Leicestershire District Council was formed and we've just sat back on our laurels.

"We've done nothing for Ashby in terms of promoting the town.

"We're not getting the visitors in Ashby. It's our fault that we're closing the TIC. Because we're not getting the tourists there.

"We don't have a hotel there any more.

"We have reduced the status of Ashby over the past 40-50 years to an ordinary town - barely a market town.

"People flock to similar towns in the Cotswolds. Where have we gone wrong? It's we that have gone wrong.

"We haven't put the effort into Ashby that we should have.

"You can blame Covid as much as you want, but I worked all the way through it. It's much easier to say 'No, we can't do it'.

"What are we offering in Ashby? Nothing. Takeaways, charity shops. The odd one or two wonderful little shops we have there are thinking twice about staying in Ashby. We're offering the outside public nothing to come for.

"Places like Moira and Donisthorpe are offering places that people want to come and see. We should have been spearheading Ashby - and Coalville - when we realised something was wrong.

"How are we publicising Ashby de la Zouch? We're not.

"We have to start marketing Ashby and we can keep the TIC open if we have the tourism. We've not kept our finger on the button.

"We've sat back and let Ashby degenerate. We need the tourists and that's where we have to help."