The Portas Pilot Plans for Hereford?

Hereford Times - 12th July 2012

The Portas Pilot Plans for Hereford?

High streets are a visible indicator of how well a local community and economy is doing. They are recognised as important hubs of social interaction and cohesion, as well as providers of employment and local commerce.

The purpose of the pilots is to test the ideas in the Portas Review and provide an opportunity for local partnerships to develop and share knowledge about the effectiveness of various options for high street improvement.

They are looking to support twelve pilots with funding of up to £100,000 for each, depending on the amount sought by and our assessment of individual bids.

Luke Conod and Heather Gorringe as Truffle Hereford with the support of a wide range of business and organisations have submitted their bid to be a part of this review. In the application they state "Hereford is one of those everyone knows everyone sort of places.

We are a City rich in country ways, a city built on rich red soil, a clean healthy river and a herd of cattle that are famous worldwide. As with most country towns news travels fast in Hereford.

The Truffle team is made up of business men and women, retailers, as well as the editor of our local newspaper, and representatives from our local authority and chamber of commerce. We will use this network to communicate with all stakeholders as the Pilot Project develops.

In just 18 months Truffle has engaged a huge percentage of our local community - with over 600 local businesses on board offering treats to 10,000 fully signed up cardholders. Both groups are emailed weekly, and this is the mechanism that will ensure the key decisions and progress are communicated effectively.

Truffle has an excellent media profile to help engage a wider audience had 55 pieces of media coverage in the last 18 months. It has featured extensively in local press and radio locally and nationally on Radio 4."