HEREFORDSHIRE Council has been told to 'sort itself out' and market the city properly if it wants to secure valuable future funding.

Nigel Hudson, rural development officer for Advantage West Midlands, defended his organisation when it came in for criticism at a public meeting called to debate Herefordshire's economy.

After hearing councillors blame AWM for withdrawing funds for projects including the Rotherwas access road and the City of Living Crafts, Mr Hudson said it was up to the council to market Hereford properly.

"I have heard lots of different ideas flying around and you have to sort yourselves out and decide what you actually want," he explained.

"First you want to be a City of Living Crafts, which would mean specialising in education and tourism, and then you want to be leaders in industry and high-tech jobs.

"You have to work together to market Hereford properly."

"I'm in favour of the Rotherwas access road, but at the end of the day we are an economic agency and we want to see value added growth," he added.

Responding, Councillor Chris Chappell, who chaired the scrutiny committee meeting, said: "We are seen as a peripheral area to organisations like yours and inner city projects are given preferential treatment over Hereford.

"Unless you take Hereford seriously and grant us funds for these things, and in particular a bypass, then Hereford will be finished."

Earlier, Hereford business people showed frustration with the lack of development and investment in the city's infrastructure.

Eddie Gittoes, from Arctic Circle, said that after waiting eight years for an access road to Rotherwas his firm would make all future developments outside the county.

"Our company has grown and grown over the years and we now pay £2.5 million to our 100 employees each year, money which goes straight into Hereford's economy," he said.

"However, with the inadequate access we cannot go any further in Rotherwas and are now planning our next project in South Wales, which will take 20 jobs away from Hereford.

"As a Herefordian, this does not make me happy."

Estate agent Patrick James was equally vocal about the lack of progress.

"We have been hearing the same things for 20 odd years, so what are we going to do about it?"