A THOUSAND name petition to keep Ledbury's Tourist Information Centre in The Homend has fallen on deaf ears.

Herefordshire Council this week outlined its plans for the redevelopment of the Master's House in St Katherine's car park and confirmed that it intends to move the TIC to the building.

The £3 million development would also see the library move to the Master's House, the creation of a council information office and possibly a new museum in the medieval building.

The council is preparing a £1.5m lottery bid and, if successful, would provide match-funding.

A further outline report on the council's plans is set to come out at the end of June.

However, work on converting the Master's House for a library move is set to start this month and the first books could be stamped there as early as this autumn.

Jane Lewis, the council's acting cultural services manager, spoke at Tuesday's meeting of the Ledbury Tourist Association. She said a saving of £21,000 rent and £5,500 rates were a factor in the TIC move into a building the authority actually owns.

Association chairman Andy Ward, a driving force behind the petition to keep the TIC in the Homend, said: "We will support a well-funded development that will be an added tourist attraction.

"I don't like to see the TIC move, but you cannot say no if the council is willing to spend £3m on the Master's House.

"It could become another significant attraction for the town."

Don Rule, Herefordshire councillor for Ledbury, said the John Masefield Society had expressed interest in having a museum and archive facility in the finished building.

He said the council already had listed building consent to start work on putting in a library.

Early work will involve creating a new reception area for the council information officers and the instalment of new flooring.

The present office area will be refurbished as Ledbury's new library.

There will be an automatic opening front door and a disabled toilet, all on the ground floor.

Unlike the current library in the Elizabeth Barrett Browning Institute, it will meet new disabled access laws.