THE Market House is a beautiful building at the centre of town and is the heart and soul of Ross to many people.

But when we couldn’t see it, or walk around it during its renovation, somehow Ross life seemed diminished.

So, its reopening was joyful and for me made the town seem whole again. I would especially like to thank all those involved directly and indirectly in the renovation, from the councillors and officers to the stonemasons and those who painted the boards which brightened up the hoardings.

It was an incredible amount of work but so well done - I applaud all of you in protecting this building for our future. There have been many council-led events throughout the year with the Christmas Fair being hugely popular and successful.

The Equinox festival was wonderful too, despite the weather. However, the events closest to my heart were those events aimed at children.

There was an array of events during the school’s half term and I know the summer pop-up beach was enjoyed by children and their parents, from all walks of life.

The Easter Bunny week of events combining children’s activities, a market and the fun of the Bake Off competition, were all well received and hugely appreciated by young and old.

These events give us residents a real buzz but are also really appreciated by tourists passing through.

Many visitors who I talked to recently had fallen in love with Ross and are planning on returning and I like to think the council-led events played a part in this.

Still on the topic of children, the town council has been able to redo part of Dean Hill play area and place a larger piece of play equipment on the Ropewalk for older children.

Both these projects involved external grant funding, and we hope to carry on improving Ross’s play provision as we believe it is so important for all our children.

However, the lack of provision for youth work and youth clubs is still a major problem and any community input and help would be incredibly welcome.

Our children and young people are our future, and I believe we need to look after them in the best way we possibly can.

Over the past year there have been of course many differing views and ideas of how to help our town thrive and its good to have a wide variety of approaches.

However, this has led to inaccurate and unhelpful exchanges on social media.

Fortunately, these differing views have mostly been shared in a constructive way within council meetings.

I would hope that over the next year all councillors will work amicably together for the welfare of Ross as co-operation always brings more benefits in the long run.

Finally, Ross has always seemed a wonderful place to me, but I have been even more impressed by the community spirit and kindness of people.

In conclusion, I would especially like to thank those who have supported my chosen charity for the year - Homestart Herefordshire.