EVERY avenue is being explored to try and save the struggling Morwellham Quay as a heritage attraction, after Devon County Council pulled the plug on further funding last week.

The trust which runs the site said calling in administrators would be a last resort if all other funding initiatives failed.

'There's too much at stake for Morwellham to go into liquidation,' said chairman of the Morwellham and Tamar Valley Trust, Michael Stone.

'This is a major part of the heritage of the South West and recognised as such by the world heritage organisation UNESCO.'

The county council announced last week that no more council tax payers' money would be used to bail out the Victorian attraction, once one of the busiest ports in England, which had already received £1.2 million from the authority since 2006. A rescue package was thrown at Morwellham in the hope that it would turn around its fortunes but this had not occurred.

In a statement this week, Morwellham and Tamar Valley Trust said it believed going into administration would be the worst possible solution for all stakeholders, including the public, but it needed an injection of cash immediately.

'Such a course of action would result in a liquidation of the trust's assets, potentially crystallising losses in excess of £5-million, both for the trust and for the other public funding bodies that have invested in the site,' said the trust.

Michael Stone said Morwellham was on the brink of turning itself around and within two years he believed it would be sustainable.

He said he was surprised that the county council no longer wished to maintain its support considering it had fully subscribed and supported the strategy to upgrade the site during the past three years.

'The site has been a mud bath because of the work that has been going on to repair and restore the quays,' he said.

'It was simply not presentable to the public and not the right time to market it.

'We were on the brink of doing some amazing things in marketing and publicity terms but further support has been withdrawn from the county council and now we find ourselves in a very difficult position.'

Morwellham's museum, historic port, mine workings, mine train, farm and estate transport visitors back to the 1860s, when heaps of gleaming copper ore from 100 Tamar Valley mines filled the quays, and ships' masts lined the river.

The site employs 15 permanent staff and 19 seasonal and casual staff and has 30-40 volunteers.

Mr Stone said visitor numbers had started to improve with the turnover for August up by 30%, a TV company was interested in making a series about the site and Antiques Roadshow at Morwellham would be screened in October bringing further publicity and visitors to the site.

Leader of the Conservative controlled county council, John Hart, said the original decision to put money to Morwellham was taken by the previous Liberal Democrat administration as the attraction had debts of nearly £1-million.

A further £200,000 had been given in July this year to enable the site to operate until the end of September.

'We were willing to give the trust a final chance to demonstrate good financial management based on a sound business plan, but what should have been a lucrative summer season is almost over and it is clear that there has not been a sufficient turnaround in fortunes,' he said.

'We are entrusted with council taxpayers' money that they worked hard to earn. I do not intend to be profligate with that cash and send good money after bad.'

Tavistock county council member Cllr Debo Sellis said the decision not to continue funding Morwellham was a cabinet decision and one she was not part of, but she had emphasised to members the importance of the attraction in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Heritage area.

'There was no malevolence in this decision, It was thoroughly considered,' she said.

'This site has been haemorrhaging money for years and when the business plan was assessed the forecast deficit for 2010 was in the region of £320,000.

'It is not taxpayers' responsibility to run a tourist attraction and there are so many other pressures on county council finances like education and the health service.'

Manager of the Tamar Valley AONB Tim Selman said there was a lot of momentum and a lot of good will for Morwellham.

He said: 'We must all pull together to make sure the site survives.

'Morwellham would have gone without the county council and West Devon Borough Council's help, it was in deep debt but it has been showing all the signs of recovery and getting to a point where it could stand on its own — it just needed a bit more time. It will be a great shame if it does not get that chance.'