Masterplan to bring new lease of life to Herefordshire town

The £90,000 project in Bromyard has been criticised mainly because of the backwards D in the town's name in the new branding.

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But that, which designers say was taken from the historically-important Bromyard Bushel, is only one element of the Great Places to Visit fund scheme.

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On top of that, Bromyard and Winslow Town Council's project team, made up of Bob Ghosh of K4 Architects, Jayne Bradley Ghosh of Foodscapes, graphic designers Lucy Grafham and artist Jane Tudge, also want murals, a spruced-up alley and new signs around the town.

Market coordinator, Jayne Bradley Ghosh is coordinating the idea for new markets in Bromyard as part of the Great Places to Visit fund. Picture: Rob Davies

The Government-backed fund, handed out via Herefordshire Council, needs to be spent by the summer – and the project team says that if the deadline is missed, the money will be gone.

As well as that, it can only be spent on measures which aim to increase footfall and make the town more legible and attractive to local residents and tourists to the area.

Here is a look at the main areas of the project, with finished designs to be decided by the town council at a date yet to be publicly confirmed.

New signs

The new totem and fingerpost signs proposed for Bromyard. Picture: K4 Architects

Called "the wayfinding package" by designers, they're proposing that the majority of the funding is spent on these new signs.

There are already blue fingerpost signs dotted around the town, including in the Tenbury Road car park by the public toilet and Conquest Theatre, but the team wants to see these replaced.

As part of the new signage package, there would be new totem signs at "key arrival points", for cars, buses and walkers.

These would have clear maps showing points of interest, and they would be also likely to have a QR code which can be scanned by a mobile phone.

This will take the user to a website which would highlight attractions, places to stay, independent retail, food and drink places and events, including its "famous programme of festivals".

There would also be new fingerpost signs, made of metal but made to look like wood.

Each individual pointer would be easy to replace if places were to close of move, architect Bob Ghosh told a recent town council meeting.

He said the signs would be hard to vandalise, but not impossible, when quizzed by councillors.

He said they were similar to signs used in a variety of other towns and cities across the country, and made by a reputable firm.

The signposts would also direct people towards "key locations" within the town centre, as well as "memorable walks that surround the town".

Subway mural and 'festival alley'

A mock-up view of how the subway under the A44 Bromyard Bypass, could look. Picture: K4 Architects

Another part of the project will aim to "bring to life some of the forgotten routes" in the town, the project team said.

One part of this would be the subway, where graphic designer Lucy Grafham mocked up a mural which could go there.

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The subway, which links Pump Street and Tower Hill under the A44 Bromyard bypass is gloomy at the best of times, but she said this would give the area a boost.

Ms Grafham, who moved to Bromyard more than 10 years ago, told a town council meeting that she loved the local dialect and believed it should be shown off.

A mock-up view of how the alleyway past Tinton Brothers Joinery, Bromyard, could look. Picture: K4 Architects

Some phrases which could be displayed there include "oright", "whats the roads like" and "ers off to Ereford to do some shopping", with all Ds reversed to match the backwards D from the bushel.

In a similar vein, she wants to see the alleyway between Broad Street and Rowberry Street, past Tinton Brothers Joinery, lined with pictures or other snippets from the town's festivals.

She said this could be a spot where people go to take Instagram pictures, but wanted it to be a hidden gem rather than a well-trodden route.

"These will be enhanced with new artwork in the form of murals, inspired by the local context and developed by Bromyard artists and designers," the project team said.

"The idea is to turn something mundane into something experiential that makes you smile and reflect when you walk through it."

The backwards D in Bromyard

Social media examples of the new Bromyard branding. Picture: K4 Architects/Lucy Grafham/Nifty Marketing

One part of the project which has already drawn a lot of attention online, mainly criticism on local Facebook groups, is the new branding for Bromyard.

The design team has mocked up new social media examples of how the new branding would be used, utilising yellow as the theme and Bromyard with a backwards D.

That was labelled a spelling mistake by Coun Gill Churchill, and a gimmick by Coun David James Smith.

James Edgar, who lives locally, said: "The backward D looks awful and is the wrong message being sent out.

"The connection between Bromyard and backward will be made by some people."

The inspiration from the backwards D came from the Bromyard Bushel. Picture: Rob Davies

But it was defended by Lucy Grafham who said it was chosen because Bromyard was spelt like that on the bushel.

That was made in 1670 to standardise measures in the area.

Ms Grafham explained the reasoning behind the move, which was to keep Bromyard's history in the forefront as it looked to the future, as well as about promoting the town and making conversations.

She also said 100 per cent of people in a focus group liked it.

Ms Grafham also came up with the slogans "loved as it is" and "Nested in nature. Heart in the community. Over 1,200 years old and still young".

She also picked out independent, authentic and rooted as three "key ideas in words".

The branding would be used on social media, and have the potential to be put on merchandise says as bags for life and hoodies.

These could be sold in the tourist information centre, Ms Grafham said, or in local business with the shop's own logo.

Bringing back markets

Bromyard, one of Herefordshire's five market towns has been without such an event for several years.

But as part of the project, the team wants to give these a kickstart again and utilise the Market Square – outside the Hop Pole Hotel, recently bought by Alfie Best, one of the UK's richest men and the owner of Wyldecrest Parks.

The inaugural market will be on Platinum Jubilee weekend, the team said.

It will include a street food market on the evening of Saturday, June 4 and an artisan food and craft market on the morning of Sunday, June 5.