THE sudden closure of Ice Bytes Café and Ice Cream Parlour on The Homend has left Ledbury without a Tourist Information Centre. 

The property, which has housed the information centre since 2011, is now on the market with with Stooke Hill and Walshe for £440,000.

Town Clerk Angela Price said work was now underway to find a new base for the centre. “We have been trying to find a way to have the tourist information centre at the town council reception.

“The staff here already help a lot of visitors to the town who pass through Church Street and pop in for advice about things like bus timetables.”

The council’s reception already displays a wide range of helpful information leaflets for tourists. “We are looking at the possibility of the council taking it over, but there is a lot to consider and we are taking advice,” she added.

The centre’s move to the café ten years ago came after the town’s former facility, at the Masters House off Bye Street, was closed by Herefordshire Council. Following this change, visitors were left perplexed as signs throughout the town continued to point them towards the former venue.

John Eager, the owner of Ice Bytes, set up the centre as a social enterprise business separate from his main trade. 

A post about the the café’s closure on the Voice of Ledbury Facebook group has attracted more than 70 comments. With many expressing sadness at the closure of a long-standing feature of the town.

The estate agent describes the property as a “charming Grade II Listed property offering large two storey flat with four double bedrooms and two bathrooms, together with a spacious ground floor retail space currently with A3 usage.

“The property is situated in the heart of Ledbury town centre which offers a comprehensive range of facilities and amenities to include shops, post office, primary and secondary school, mainline railway station and regular bus service.”

The same agency is also selling the Sue Ryder charity shop, just a few doors down from Ice Bytes on The Homend, for £295,000. This property comes with a three-bedroom flat “requiring some updating”.