Plans to rebrand Sidmouth, taking it forward for the next decade, were revealed this week.

Councillor Louise Thompson and Jessica McDonald from Voyage Travel Marketing spoke about a project, backed by Sidmouth Town Council, at the latest Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.

The pair presented their plans to rebrand 'Visit Sidmouth' and the vision of how to promote the town in a struggling economy, starting with a new town logo and town guide.

Cllr Thompson said: "As a town council we are incredibly aware tourism is the key economy that drives our town and has an enormous influence on the jobs and wellbeing of our beautiful town. Also the wider context of Brexit ... It is there. Also the fact that high streets are nationally under pressure. We want to be doing our bit to mitigate that as much as we can but also to be moving forward."

Cllr Thompson said they had been working hard to progress the project, ready for the 2020 tourist season.

She added: "Our current branding is centred around the town guide - it's served us very well but it time to evolves it and take it forward.

"One of things I noticed when I moved home, people said 'oh you've moved to Sidmouth' and the first thing they would say is 'there is not a lot going on, isn't it a bit old for you?'. So you might think we don't have a brand but we do and that brand perception and evolving it so that we have thriving economy here over 10 years and beyond, that is what this is about."

Mrs McDonald , of Voyage Travel Marketing who is working on the project for free, said it was all built on five brand pillars. Each one covers all the town's initiatives and events that tourists can enjoy.

This includes:

'A not so hidden national treasure' - focusing on the town's location on a Jurassic coast world heritage site, within an area of outstanding natural beauty and on being easily accessible compared to places like Cornwall.

'Soul soothing coastal reboot - all about the sea and the relaxing nature of a holiday by the sea.

'Green in colour and green in nature' - all about the open green spaces and the town being sustainable.

'Do everything or nothing at all' - includes all the town's activities for all types of holiday makers.

'An endearing Devonshire town' - all about local pride and the community welcome you feel when visiting Sidmouth, highlighting the range of independent and family-run businesses. Another key component of this pillar highlight what Sidmouth doesn't have.

Mrs McDonald said: "It is so unique and a cut above the rest because we don't have cheap amusements... We don't have rowdy nightclubs and arcades."

She added they wanted to visually communicate this through the town guide and hopefully with a new website and with a range of other initiatives, using a new colour scheme, fonts and selected marketing designs.