THE MAYOR of Ashburton has admitted the town council could have done the wrong thing by making their tourist information officer redundant.
Pete Webb will leave his job at the town's information centre today because the town council couldn't afford his wages.
His post was part paid for with European funding which has now dried up.
And at the time the redundancy decision was made Ashburton were unsure if the district authority were putting any money in to the pot either.
But district councillor, Jean Jarvis, said Teignbridge could grant Ashburton £6,000, around £2,500 more than originally anticipated.
Ashburton Mayor, Cllr Wendy Gill, said councillors could come to regret laying off Mr Webb if Teignbridge council actually gave Ashburton a bigger grant than originally seemed likely.
She said: 'It's a sad affair really. We couldn't do anything without the funding. We didn't want to lay Mr Webb off before Christmas so I think we've been as fair as we can. But if we had the grant we needed we wouldn't have had to lay him off. But if we do get £6,000 from Teignbridge council we may feel we have gone the wrong way on this matter.'
Mrs Jarvis said nothing was cut and dried at the moment, adding: 'I am sure the town council realises Teignbridge is in the process of budget setting at the moment. So the amount of Ashburton's grant hasn't been discussed in detail yet. But we were thinking around £6,000 which is more than in previous years. But that's not a final figure yet.'
Mr Webb himself was devastated by the news.
He said: 'It was a shock but not a surprise to find out I was being laid off. It was on the cards because of the council's finances. I've had quite a reaction from locals too who don't seem to want me to go. I've lived in Ashburton 30 years and I've grown to love the town and its history. So I'm sad to be going. I've not got any firm job offers yet but I've sent off applications. I was hoping to stay in the same line of work because I have a lot of local knowledge. I just hope it works out in the end.'