COLCHESTER Council is being urged to put its money where its mouth is over the town’s bid to be confirmed as a World Heritage Site.

The community group behind the application, Destination Colchester, estimates it could cost as much as £400,000 to mount a successful bid with United Nations cultural body, UNESCO.

The council is supporting the bid in principle, but has so far not come up with financial backing, a situation condemned by Conservative councillors as “very disappointing”.

They are urging the Labour-Lib Dem administration to sink a substantial sum into the application, arguing a successful bid would bring millions into the town in years to come.

Sue Lissimore, Tory economic development, culture and tourism spokesman, said: “To get this status would be a massive boost for Colchester on the international stage.

“It would draw visitors from across the world to enjoy our Roman heritage.

“Colchester has at least 5,000 people employed in the tourist industry. It makes millions of pounds for the town every year.

“We appreciate the straightened circumstances of public finances and the need to prioritise, but the council should be doing everything it can to support an important part of the local economy.”

Nick Barlow, Lib Dem councillor responsible for culture, said the plain truth was services would have to be cut if the council were to find money to back the bid.

He added: “We would love to have the money to do this and if the Tories believe it can be found, they should publicly say where they would make cuts.

“We have explained the situation to Destination Colchester, which believes it can raise the funds needed from the public.”

UNESCO currently lists 890 World Heritage Sites – from the pyramids at Giza, in Egypt to the Statue of Liberty in New York, Cologne cathedral and the Acropolis in Athens. Such sites benefit from extra tourist trade, greater protection for key monuments and also find it easier to get grants for projects Destination Colchester chairman Wendy Bailey said the recent success of the town’s Roman circus appeal had given her confidence the bid could, indeed, be funded through public donations.

She said: “We have no intention of asking the council for funding, but we can’t say what will happen in the future.

“I wouldn’t say no to funding from any direction to support this project. It would be a fantastic boost to the town, if successful.”