This is a talking point published in the Hereford Times on October 3.

Mike Truelove, chief executive, Hereford BID

NOW celebrating our 10th year, the Hereford Business Improvement District (Hereford BID) has been serving local businesses with an increasing array of projects and services to help them prosper.

It has been a long journey. Our original founders (all business people) had a vision where the business community took up the reins of their own destiny, working against the decline the city had seen in comparison to other locations that were fighting for trade.

Before us there was nothing. No organisation had the sole remit of putting the city centre first.

Today we see the fruits of that labour with an organised plan and strategy. Regular marketing of businesses via our consumer brand Hereford City Life; an efficient handy team who tackle weeds, gum and plant beautiful flowers (including our baskets), and a raft of initiatives to drive footfall and prosperity such as the Hereford Gift Card, a retail crime forum (including intelligence briefings) and regular events in town including live street music, dinosaur days, a Halloween Festival and Christmas programme, to name but a few.

All of this has been delivered for businesses by a board of directors who are business owners themselves- and care deeply.

We are proud of the work that has been done so far. However, there are challenges in Hereford, of course; things are not perfect.

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What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

But whilst the Hereford BID is here, and businesses want us, we will continue to passionately build on our accomplishments which currently include plans for a whole new level of regional marketing to increase the number of tourists that come here.

None of this would be possible without the terrific cooperation of local businesses and partners who place their money and trust in the work we do.

It is both humbling and inspiring, and we feel lucky to work for a city that is truly as great as Hereford. This should be sung loudly to the outside world.