COMMENT.

TRADERS are right to be concerned about a planned shake-up of Ledbury town centre, although finalised hard-details are yet to be revealed by Herefordshire Council.

These details may come in November, with a new report - well after the leaked initial plan of August 2018, which took everyone by surprise.

The phrase “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” does spring to mind, because photographs show that the basic layout of the town centre has barely changed since Victorian times. Indeed, the basic layout is medieval, and Ledbury has managed well enough with that layout, over the centuries.

However, there are always positive points to any plan, and while there are grounds for concern, there are also reasons for interest and optimism.

If the final proposals do indeed include a paved area around the Market House - Ledbury’s iconic building - is that such a bad thing? It’s a bad prospect for traders if, as seems likely, precious parking spaces in the High Street will be lost; but if Herefordshire Council can somehow make proposals for new convenient parking spaces nearby, then the idea of a paved square around the Market House seems more attractive.

Yes, it would present other problems. The bus-stop would probably have to be shifted, and the square would probably lead to a significant narrowing of the High Street - a pinch point for traffic in the centre of town. And what about the Charter Market? Could it remain by the Market House?

However, Ledbury is a tourist town with a world-famous Poetry Festival. A paved town square would have its uses.