SHAFTESBURY'S tourism centre is set to be taken over by a local group, six months after North Dorset District Council announced it was cutting funding for the facility.

Blackmore Vale Tourism and Development Company will now run the service from the centre's premises on Bell Street.

The company was set up by local hotelier David Shepherd, together with Shaftesbury councillor Janet Lowe and Gillingham councillor David Milsted, with the backing of the two town councils.

The three unpaid directors have now appointed a manager to run the centre with the help of local volunteers.

Company chairman David Shepherd said: "We will be reopening the refurbished centre on November 1 to provide an excellent service both for visitors and local enterprises. By reinvesting our profits we aim to improve and enhance our service for the benefit of the local economy across a wide area."

The tourist and information will close for the reorganisation on October 31 and reopen with the new management the next day.

Cllr David Milsted said that once the new centre was opened it would be a case of "business as usual - only better".

He added: "At last Gillingham and district will be actively promoted, and one of our first projects is to install visitor information boards across Gillingham. We are also working in partnership on a green tourist package' based on Gillingham Railway Station, to attract the growing market for eco-tourism. The area had so much to offer."

A public opening ceremony for the new centre is planned for the New Year.