Today, apparently, there were four very expensive microphones stationed around the city. They were in place to record ambient traffic noise levels at strategic points in relation to the developments taking place around the new access road and Merton Meadow car park.

They were positioned at 5.00 a.m. and are in place until midnight tonight.

The value is high enough to warrant a minder in a parked car in a hi-vis jacket with security emblazoned upon it sat watching each one permanently.

The security firm was sub contracted to Balfour Beatty. I do not know how much four security guards cost for nineteen hours, but I do know that the one "on duty" outside my workplace this afternoon was asleep for quite a while!!!!

Excellent value for money for us council tax payers!!!

Good Morning

Just a reminder that The South Wye Transport Package, travel improvements consultation is being previewed at the Three Counties Hotel today between 10 am and 8 pm.  Council and BBLP staff will be available to answer questions, you will be able to see the proposals and view a short video, highlighting possible changes.

You will also be asked to complete a questionnaire on the proposals.  It is certainly worth a look and getting your views put across.

Morning

Just a reminder that the Harvest Festival takes place on Saturday 17th September 2016 from 2 pm to 4 pm at Belmont Community Centre.  There will be songs, nibbles and good company!

In the spirit of Community we are not charging for this event but would ask people to "donate" items we can then distribute to the needy in our area.

Booking is essential so please reserve your place on 01432 263415

We hope to see you there.

Hi

The Parish Council will be holding a Community Action Day in Belmont on Saturday 15th October 2016 from 10.30 am. The aim is to get as many volunteers as possible to try and help with jobs around the parish, including Jubilee Field and public paths.  There was a similar event earlier in the year and I ended up spending a considerable amount of time helping to clear a large area of brook with another volunteer!!

I am sure the Parish Council will be putting up posters with more detail in the near future, but I wanted to give people advance warning, to save the date :)

I think it is a really good opportunity for the community to come together and improve/make a difference to some of our public areas. 

If you know an area with Belmont Rural that you think might benefit from some work, (please remember it will be for a few hours and will be worked by volunteers), please let me know and I can pass on the information to the Parish Council.

It would be fantastic to see lots of volunteers and I believe there is even a free BBQ for those that help.

See you there.

Picked this up off Tracy's Facebook Page:

"Went out last night on patrol with West Mercia Police Officers in Hereford. Part of my role as a County Councillor is being a representative on the Licensing and Regulatory Committee so I saw first hand some of the checks carried out by licensed premises staff, met Street Pastors who do an amazing job tending to vulnerable people, to ensure they are safe and looked after and seeing how Hereford night time economy operates.

Also, did some taxi enforcement and went out with a police officer in an unmarked and very fast vehicle. It has to be said the officer was a hell of a good driver !! As well as explaining to me what she was doing and why, she dealt with members of the public very professionally and courteously, even in sometimes difficult situations. She gave me a real insight into the workings of the police on a Friday and Saturday night it a city centre!

I also met lots of licensees, door staff and members of the public. The door staff were very good, explained issues and answered the numerous questions I asked of them, all with a smile on their face! They all agreed the city has been transformed in an evening and is completely different to how it operated just a few years ago.

I have to say it was a very worthwhile exercise and I think all councillors, especially those in licensing should go out there and see how things really work.

Last night was memorable for lots of reasons and I hope I have a little more understanding of how the city and the people working in it operate."

Nice work, Tracy.

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 9th June 2016 at Belmont Community Centre, Eastholme Avenue, Belmont Hereford.

Minutes - 9.6.2016.compressed.pdf

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 12th May 2016 at Northholme Community Centre, Belmont Hereford.

Minutes - 12.5.2016.compressed.pdf

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Thursday 28th April 2016 at Northolme Community Centre, Northolme Road, Belmont Hereford.

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting - 28.4.2016.pdf

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 14th April 2016 at Belmont Community Centre, Eastholme Avenue, Belmont Hereford.

Approved Minutes - 14.4.2016.pdf

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 14th March 2016 at Northholme Community Centre, Belmont Hereford.

Another empire in the making. Not so long ago the great and the good decided quite rightly that the walk in Asda Surgery was a huge drain upon the resources of the City GP Practices. Every single time a patient walks inside the Asda surgery the Practice that the patient is registered with gets the bill. It's hugely costly, its a huge drain upon the NHS resources and as far as Im concerned getting rid of Asda would make financial sense.

But what do they do to rid themselves of this problem? They create Taurus. They grab a hold of Berrows House, get a pile of funding from all the Doctors Surgeries and its decided that their brief will be to take on the responsibility of examining patients who might have an orthopaedic injury. The idea I guess is to get the patient referred from their local doctor, decide whether or not there is a need for a referral to a Consultant and away we go saving us all millions.

Trouble is, they quickly decided that it wasn't working, it was a money loss making machine and so they changed the rules and began carrying out general work dressing it up as taking away the strain and still saving us millions.

Course, to make it all function, you need an empire and that is now whats been done. They've decided that the Asda walk in centre ain't never going to go anytime soon so they've conveniently forgot the original grand and noble cause and simply begun to build their empire by paying the best to get the best. Every day and night of the week the place is staffed by a Doctor who's on two hundred quid an hour, two nurses on eighteen quid an hour, Health Care workers who are on a lump of money and nobody knows where they are. That's right! Nobody knows where the premises are.They are actually to be found in Wargrave House and the staff who are there sit there bored for hours on end because very few patients ever come through the doors. They ain't doing anything. There's little or nothing to do because few people know where they are and the local GP Surgeries can't be bothered to send their patients there because they'd pretty much decided its a huge waste of time and a waste of money.

But that's only the start of it. They are building big. They are recruiting staff at a fast rate of speed and albeit the contracts are for only nine months, they are paying way over the going rate and telling the staff that this little gravey train ain't for stopping and the employment will go on beyond the end of the nine months.

Staff who are working within local Surgeries have signed up on the Taurus recruitment data base so that they can get some evening work doing nothing and getting paid a great deal more than they get normally get paid. The fact that few people ever get through the door to see them is something that seems to be of little concern. They've got their grand titles, their huge hourly rate and pretty soon now, they'll be able to produce you and I a graph that'll show how they are saving us all millions and how they've taken the strain away from all the overwhelmed surgeries who can't cope because there are far to many people registered for care.

It's madness! If you ask any public servant or health care professional how to go about building an empire they'll say build, build quick, pay the best, create pointless tiers of bureaucracy and do it so quickly that it'll be near on impossible to dismantle the madness.

This is the way it is. This is the way of things. You can take some really good and capable Doctors and other Health Care professionals, seduce them with the idea of power and increased wealth and before you know it you've created another slice of pointless rubbish that'll eventually end up filed under, 'Another Expensive Bad Idea' that didnt save us money, didnt reduce the strain on GP Surgeries but made a lot of people a great deal of money doing next to buggar all.

http://bullsnews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/city-link-road-event-at-starlight-rooms.html  A drop in event on the plans for the new link road is being held at the Starlight rooms at 12 noon tuesday June 14th

I cannot believe will over 4 months to go until Christmas they have got Xmas cards, gifts and wrapping paper out on sale in Debenhams already! The kids are still on their school summer holidays!

Unreal...

Last weeks HT leader column was a scathing attack against the ongoing cult of secrecy that still operates within the Council and specifically why no one is allowed to know what's happening about Peter Robinson - is he in or out? Still no one knows or is telling. On balance it looks like he's gone.

I notice that The Barrels Pub have had a fantastic Beer Festival again this year and have donated money to various local charities! Well done to all involved.

Hi

The EDGAR street grid are planning to remove over 55% of or off street paking when the EDGAR street grid takes place.

During the day we have 10 parking places but from 6pm-9am we have a further 11-12 places. Ideal for the workers coming home.

They want to make Prior street be two way for bikes and we loose 11 spaces.

Where are are the residents going to park when Edgar street park closes where are those people park the cars??! Anywhere there isn't a double yellow line.

Tony

Am I missing something here? Why is Hereford2020 so special? Is it the year "our Colin" gets freedom of the city or flogged to death!! ;p Will the never ending traffic congestion end? Will "those traffic lights" finally be switched off? Will a second river crossing be in place? Or will it be in "The Times" top ten places to live?

Let's face it, it take the council months to get a small patch of grass cut; what do they expect to achieve in 1220 days?

Someone please enlighten me.