PLANS to build a Jurassic Coast visitor centre in Exmouth have suffered a setback after the volunteer board appointed to oversee the project was dissolved.

Now the project is likely to be taken over by private sector consultants, a move that could see costs spiral.

The Exmouth and Seaton Interpretation Centres Board was originally formed to oversee the delivery of the project in Exmouth and Seaton.

However, the board pulled the plug because of the increasing workload stemming from an increase in funding problems over the past year.

Applications to the Big Lottery, Living Landmarks and Sea Change schemes had been unsuccessful while the South West Regional Development Agency withdrew funding of £1.25 million per centre.

This had left both projects relying on local authority support to ensure that the necessary buildings were provided.

The favoured site in Exmouth is on the Imperial Recreation Ground, with additional land earmarked near the Mamhead Slipway for a separate seafront interpretation centre.

While a planning application for the Seaton centre is on the verge of being filed progress on the Exmouth centres appears to have stalled.

A spokesman for the district council said: "The board said they had seen their role as strategic; they had not expected as volunteers to be carrying out professional detailed work."

He added that officers were working to find alternative ways to manage the delivery of the two centres.