TOURISM chiefs have launched one of their biggest drives yet to entice visitors back to North Yorkshire after the ravages of foot-and-mouth disease.

One of the key events in the rural recovery was unveiled yesterday, when council bosses announced that a new £225,000 tourist information centre (TIC) would open in Thirsk this Easter.

The centre has moved out of its previous cramped premises in the World of James Herriot Centre and into a prime location in the Market Place.

The centre will offer an accommodation booking service, public transport information and theatre bookings. It will also operate a UK holiday information service for local people during the winter months.

TIC development manager Karen Galloway said the new-look service would also be looking to sell local crafts for the first time.

"This move is giving us the opportunity to streamline the organisation of the TIC, bringing it under the wing of the council's tourism section," she said.

"And, with more space, we hope that locally-produced crafts can be stocked, along with all the maps, books and souvenirs needed by visitors."

The centre, which opens on Friday, will be staffed by a full-time manager and a volunteer force of 30.

Meanwhile, a scheme which has united three parishes in the Hillside area of Thirsk is also moving forward.

Borrowby, Knayton and Hillside are the first areas in Hambleton district to become involved in the Countryside Agency's Vital Villages project.

More than £220,000 in European funding is available under the scheme, which encourages small communities to take stock of their surroundings and identify what is needed to revitalise them.

All residents of the Hillside parishes were asked to complete a questionnaire on the subject earlier this year - and community leaders are now ready to act on the responses.

Borrowby parish councillor Ann Johnson said: "We pitched the questions in such a way that we hoped for a high level of response. The fact that 81 per cent were returned in Borrowby alone shows the high level of interest there is in the future of our parishes."

An exhibition of the ideas from the survey takes place in Borrowby village hall today, from 10am to 2pm.