MORE THAN 900 people have signed a petition that aims to save a Hampshire tourist facility used by 136,000 visitors a year.

Plans to axe a Visitor Information Centre (VIC) that forms part of the New Forest Centre in Lyndhurst have been approved by the district council’s ruling Cabinet.

Members of the Tory group supported proposals to shut the VIC next April with the loss of five jobs. But the final decision will be taken by the full council on December 12, when David Harrison, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group, will present the petition.

The council wants to close the VIC in a bid to save £60,000 a year. But the authority has recently voted to forge ahead with plans to replace 119 storm-damaged beach huts at Milford on Sea, despite a sharp rise in the cost of the scheme.

The bill for building new beach huts and carrying out associated improvements to the seafront has increased by more than £1 million to £2.3 million – almost double the original price.

Cllr Harrison said: “The strength of the petition clearly demonstrates that local people understand and value the visitor information service.

“The Conservative group would be stupid to ignore public opinion. The insistence that they must make these loyal and knowledgeable staff redundant to save £60,000 a year, when they have just wasted £1.2 million on a lavish beach hut scheme makes no sense”.

A report to Cabinet members said visitor numbers had dropped in recent years because more tourists were going online to access the information they needed.

Cllr Harrison said staff dealt with a raft of questions asked by visitors to the Forest. He added: “They are providing a much-needed service at a low cost with little in the way of management overheads. The policy is ill thought through and unfair.”

But the council leader, Cllr Barry Rickman, said: “We must update our services to reflect the age we live in.”

Cllr Anna Rostand added: “Times are difficult and money is tight. Our resources are better spent on looking after vulnerable members of our community than on providing people with information on where they can see pigs.”

But Cabinet members supported the closure plan, even though more than 600 people had already signed Cllr Harrison’s petition.

Council officers stressed that the rest of the New Forest Centre, which includes a museum and a gift shop, would remain open.