A WEST Devon heritage attraction on the edge of insolvency is hoping a solution may come this week to give it a future.

Morwellham Quay is facing liquidation after Devon County Council announced it would no longer be using taxpayers' money to fund the site.

Over the last three years £1.2 million has been given to the Morwellham and Tamar Valley Trust by the county council in the hope that there would be a turnaround in fortunes for the struggling attraction but it has not happened.

Following a meeting of the trustees last Friday chairman Michael Stone said it had been decided to maintain the position of the trust for another seven days.

'We decided not to apply immediately for liquidation but to continue to work very hard with all the stakeholders to find a consensual solution,' he said.

'We have had an extremely successful weekend with the Tavistock Food Fair and the Classic Car Rally.

'Many, many people came down and they appreciated the beauty of the place and said it was an amazing resource for Tavistock. There is a lot of goodwill but to what extent we can turn that into cash this week remains to be seen.'

Mr Stone said at the moment everybody still had a job — Morwellham employs 15 permanent staff and 19 seasonal and casual staff: 'Because we are on the edge of insolvency we have to be very careful what we do now.

'It's fairly clear that unless a miracle occurs we will have to slim down the operation to see it through the winter.'

Stakeholders in Morwellham Quay include the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team, English Heritage, the National Lottery, Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council.

Following the county council's announcement last week, the trustees said they anticipated that Morwellham would have been sustainable within two years.

Efforts had been concentrated on improving the site and its buildings over the last three years with marketing plans in the pipeline to increase visitors numbers.