Hereford bucks
the shopping
trend
FESTIVE NEWS • DECEMBER 2017 • PAGE 29
BELLA FONTAY’S
Hair & Beauty
City Review by
John Jones, Chairman of BID
It has been another challenging year on the high
street nationwide, as the cultural shift to purchasing
of both products and services online results in less
and less need for people to spend money in high
street locations. The good news is that Hereford
City is continuing to buck the trend, with falling
shop vacancy rates and robust visitor numbers.
Through a combination of long term planning and
careful management the city is now more appealing
for shoppers to visit that it has been in several
decades.
However, even whilst Hereford does so well, we
must plan for a radically different type of city centre
over the next couple of decades, or risk being left with
a city centre that again loses its purpose and appeal.
We have a golden opportunity to address these long-
term challenges through the work currently being done
on creation of the Hereford Area Plan. The best city
centres in the future are likely to be consolidated into
smaller areas with a mix of retail and leisure outlets
that are focused on the spending of disposable income;
fashion and leisure outlets are likely to dominate. Most
high streets currently still contain banks, estate agents,
insurance brokers and a few other service industries
that will not remain on the high street in the longer
term. Within the Hereford Area Plan, we need to
address this change, protecting and enhancing our core
shopping areas, and finding the appropriate alternative
uses for the areas that we cannot sustain in the longer
term.
Ahead of the longer-term changes that will shape the
future of the city, there is a welcome wave of
investment currently being delivered. The city link road
All aspects of Hairdressing
A busy High Town
Tuesday-Friday 9.30-7.00pm, Saturday 8.30-3.00pm.
is just about to open, much of High
Town will be getting a face lift in 2018,
followed over the next couple of years
by Commercial Road and Blueschool
Street. Work will begin next year on the
Southern Link road, and there is even
reason to be optimistic that the Western
bypass will actually be built ahead of
the 2031 scheduled completion. On top
of all this council investment, the
biggest factor of all will be the huge
economic boost from the opening of the
university. I still hear a lot of people
questioning the need for a university
here, but I believe it is the single biggest
improvement that can be made to the
local economy. Compared to the
national average Herefordshire has a
low standard of living, because of very
low wages, and the university will help
drive creation of the higher value jobs
needed to improve local living
standards.
Myself and the other directors of
Hereford Business Improvement
District (HBID) will continue to help
shape these projects over the next few
years, whilst also delivering projects on
the ground. We’ve achieved a great deal
in recent months, including the
inaugural BID awards, the launch of the
Ferrous event and the installation of
new pedestrian signage currently taking
place. In 2018, our focus will shift to
marketing of Hereford, so the wider
world knows what a great place
Hereford is.
The Herefordshire economy as a
whole, has a tendency to be highly
resilient to wider political and economic
changes. None of us yet know how
Brexit will affect the country over the
next few years, however I’m quietly
confident that Hereford is very well
positioned to continue its recent revival,
irrespective of what the outside world
throws at us.
Concessions 20% off Tuesdays
Free Parking ~ Friendly atmosphere
135 Quarry Road, Hereford HR1 1SX
01432 276148
@ BellaFontays
www.cascadehairhereford.co.uk
FOOTBALL ST
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Over 2,000 youngsters enjoy football
ball in our
Leagues each weekend.
On their behalf thankyou to the Lions
ions and
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Junior League.
For mor e information
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