Signs represent huge investments

MADAM, Your recent article and photographs of the city centre, showing boarded up shops, missed an important point.

The four shop fronts you featured are evidence of substantial investment in our city, running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The grafitti is a result of mindless individuals 'investing' a few pounds in aerosol paints to deface the city.

Of the four illustrated: the first was originally to be refurbished but the existing building proved to be in a poor state and as a result the entire property was demolished and rebuilt. A letting has now been arranged.

The next property, formerly ARC next to the Butter Market, has seen workmen active there during the past fortnight as a preliminary to it being reoccupied shortly.

The next is 59/61 Commercial Street which has again been the subject of very considerable expenditure - I even recall complaints being made at the length of time hoardings were out in the street while contractors were working here. The proposal is effectively that the Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society swap premises from their corner site at number 62 and allow their existing premises to revert to retail use.

I would not expect there to be any shortage of interest in these premises when they become available.

The next, shrouded in scaffolding, is 10 Widemarsh Street which also belongs to a client of ours. This unit was acquired by him almost two years ago. As soon as the lease to the previous tenant ended the new owner commenced a major scheme of refurbishment and, given the complexities of the job, it has taken rather longer than was first envisaged to be completed.

As soon as the builders are clear of the property we will place it on the market for letting, but no "To Let" board has been put up so far because we did not want to have people trying to gain access while it was still an active building site.

The properties to which I have referred should be acknowledged as a result of positive action by owners investing in the city and not negative as is the case with those who deface the city and leave rubbish all over the place!

PAUL HODGSON,

Cross & James, King Street, Hereford.

Quick clean up

I AM writing to express my appreciation of the efforts of the council in Castle Street.

At short notice, the road and gutters were cleaned in preparation for the visit by the Duke of Kent to the cathedral and the junior school.

Ian Higton, Chairman, The Castle Street and District Residents' Association, Castle Street, Hereford.

How do they do it?

I WONDER how Tesco in the city centre manage to keep their access from the underground car park to ground level so clean and free from grafitti when the underpasses and other parts of the city are such a disgraceful sight. They are an object lesson to other retailers and to the council.

Name and address supplied.

GREG Sage, for Tesco said that it was company policy to keep the exterior and approaches to the company's stores as clean as the insides. he said: "We don't want to live and work in a messy environment and we don't want our customers coming in and seeing unsightly messes.

"We organise regular litter-picks and cleaning goes on continuously.

"There is obviously a cost involved but it is part of our overall cleaning bill. The environment of our stores is very important to us."