Chair of Ross Tourism Association, Caroline Utting thanked Ross Town council for a grant towards their latest project in a report to councillors and the public on Monday, April 25.

She thanked the town council for supporting tourism in Ross after Herefordshire Council withdrew funding in 2015. Deputy mayor Ed O’Driscoll and the town council marketing manager Jane Mainey were thanked specifically for raising the profile of the town.

The tourism association has been the recipient of several grants to produce promotional literature for Ross. The latest grant funding has gone towards redesigning and printing a map for the Ross Heritage Trail. The design was drawn up by the Ross and District Civic Society.

Ms Utting said: “It is very popular with visitors and in demand, and by the end of last year, all the supplies had gone. It felt like a good time to get it updated.”

She added that the trail is based on the blue plaques which feature on buildings around the town and were placed as part of the mayor’s project in 1985. The mayor at the time was Drew Lacey. This was made possible with the help of Morris Bricknell Estate Agents, Ross-on-Wye and District civic Society, The Ross-on-Wye Business Association, and the town council. Caroline herself took the photographs for the new edition.

Grant money has also gone towards two information points in the town, which will help tourists and visitors become more familiar with Ross.

The organisation was started in 2015 by a small number of volunteers putting together a website and associated social media accounts under the name Visit Ross to help bolster the town’s reputation as a tourist destination. This was as a result of the withdrawal of funding by the Herefordshire Council at the time.