In this week's Standard (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

In this week's Standard

Making news in the Cotswolds and North Wiltshire this week.

TOURISM in the Cotswolds has been dealt a crushing blow, with fears that Visitor Information Centres may be forced to close.

The tourism industry generates a massive £240 million each year for the local economy and employs 14 percent of the district's population.

But Cotswold District Council is set to drastically reduce its funding of Information Centres because, say councillors, they cost too much to run.

The authority thinks town councils, local businesses and the private sector should take more responsibility for the centres, which can be found in Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water.

CDC wants to slash its funding of the centres from £236,000 this year to just £30,000 a year by 2008.

The news has been greeted with dismay by parish councils, hoteliers and the owners of tourist attractions.

EMOTIONS are running high in Tetbury after county councillors decided that the sixth form at Sir William Romney School in Tetbury should close.

Students, teachers and governors, many with placards, campaigned outside Shire Hall on Friday as councillors voted to shut three sixth forms in the county in 2007.

Will a last-minute bid by Tory councillors be enough to save them?

Cirencester's civic leader will be getting 'mayor-borne' when he jumps out of a plane high over the Cotswolds.

Mayor Deryck Nash will make the leap in aid of Cirencester Access Group, which fights for the rights of disabled people over access to public buildings.

The group hit the headlines earlier this year when the Standard revealed it risked closure following the refusal of Cotswold District Council to award it a grant of just £300.

Following our article, the group received donations in excess of £1,000. Cllr Nash is hoping to bolster that figure with his jump in April.

The tandem jump will be made with the aid of the Silver Stars parachute team, which is based at South Cerney barracks.

The mayor broke the news to fellow councillors at a meeting on Tuesday night.

Anyone who wants to sponsor him can do so through the Cirencester branches of Lloyds, HSBC, Natwest, Halifax or the Stroud and Swindon building society.

PLUS Discover how our local entrants fared at Crufts.

AND Find out what TV botanist David Bellamy was doing at Cotswold Water Park.