Berwick resident's request after frustration over 'lack of any progress' on tourist maps

Tim Barnsley first raised the matter directly at the council's office in June last year. Later that summer, the map case was opened and a temporary repair was made to re-fix the map in Marygate.

The local authority also said that the map case on Wallace Green had corroded and a decision would be made on repairing or replacing it.

Mr Barnsley said: “The only result of my efforts since then has been that we now have an empty case in Marygate where the map used to be, while in Wallace Green the town council has removed the case completely, leaving two support poles as a reminder.

“The lack of any progress suggests to me that the town council doesn’t appreciate the importance of tourism to Berwick and the people who work in that sector.

“It also suggests that it doesn't take seriously matters raised by residents who find it embarrassing that the town cannot meet the basic needs of those who visit the town centre, which needs all the help it can get.”

In response, Coun John Robertson, Mayor of Berwick, said: “Personally, I fully understand the frustrations of Mr Barnsley, for they reflect those of my fellow councillors who joined Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council (BTC) to ‘get things done’ but instead are bogged down with paperwork and permissions.

"Whilst BTC is effectively a large parish council, it has to comply with a statutory system of checks and controls similar to much larger councils, to ensure transparency in everything we do, resulting in our officers devoting most of their time to administration.

“With this in mind, BTC is soon to appoint an operations manager, primarily tasked to deliver on our promises of action throughout the town.

“Personally, in regards to the two ‘static’ maps which Mr Barnsley has concerns about, I think that he’s missing the bigger picture. Their use as an aid to steer visitors around our special town are of little use once visitors walk away from them.

“However, of far more significance and benefit are the 60,000 ‘mobile’ paper maps which are produced each year by Chamber of Trade, freely available to visitors throughout the town, which also promote local businesses at the same time.

“This is not to say that there aren’t other actions we could take to improve the visitor experience, so I would encourage Mr Barnsley to join us volunteers on BTC doing our bit to improve our town, we currently have five vacancies to fill.”