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  It is very easy to criticise an action like this to limit the opening times, but as the Chairman of Crabble Corn Mill I think I can understand to some extent why they may have taken this decision.
  
  Tourism in Dover over the last few last years has been dead unless your Dover Castle as that is where everyone goes and is directed to go. Small tourist attractions cannot afford to advertise in the same way and get very little to no support in advertising their location. The end result is that the volunteers sit in the building they are there to support, hour after hour twiddling their thumbs just waiting for tourists/visitors to come through the door and the overheads on heating, lighting etc are greater than the income the minute you open the doors.
  
  Of course we all know where the attractions are, we all know where the Roman Painted House is and Crabble Corn Mill, Transport Museum etc but does the tourist or the visitor to the town? I doubt it.
  
  Easter to June and September on is dead and I know we look forward to the school holidays July -September as we may then get some visitors. I do not know for sure why the Roman Painted House have made their decision but I suspect it is because of this lack of visitors, it really is a chicken and egg situation " Do you open and hope or close and save money on overheads"
  The Mill is looking at similar savings, not on the periods we open as we open from Easter weekend through to Christmas, but we are considering just opening Thursday to Sunday. The reasons are as I said the volunteers are fed up with just sitting there doing nothing and the costs once you are open are far greater than your income.
  
  The Mill is lucky in one respect we can put events on and we do get support from many local businesses (some of those are contributors on this forum) with some events and without that support and these events the doors would have closed several years ago and even with them we struggle every year to get by.
  
  I do not know what the Council were putting forward years ago Barry, I do know they used to pay for advertising leaflets for small local attractions but pulled the plug on it so that we now have to pay for our own. It is time to forget what did or did not happen in the past and for the D. D.Council to get together with all the small tourist attractions in the Dover District and discuss the problems we are all having and give some support and guidance before all they have left is the Castle and the Museum.
  
  It is easy if you are not involved with the attractions to knock them and the individuals who run them. However when they make decisions like the Roman Painted House have, I am sure you have to look deeper and think hard about the reasons behind those decisions.

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