They seem to be running out of names up at Brockington Towers, if the recent announcement by Council Leader Tony Johnson is anything to go by.  He's just picked Cllr Patricia Morgan as his new Deputy, whose previous Cabinet responsibilities included the demanding portfolio of Disused Cemeteries.  In September, Cllr Morgan achieved local notoriety by treating Hereford Civic Society to an illustrated talk on rural bus shelters - even though she'd been invited along to discuss the future of Hereford city.

When one considers that in the last 30 months Herefordshire Council has had no fewer than three Leaders and as many Deputy Leaders, memories of The Titantic and deckchairs inevitably spring to mind.

So, casting aside the mantle of irony (I'm still smarting at being branded a mendacious oddity by the HT's Fiona Phillips), may I make a genuine proposal to Cllr Johnson which, if adopted, could greatly enhance his standing in the eyes of the county's electorate?

Councillor: your 8-person Cabinet is, to put it tactfully, somewhat 'under-powered' in terms of commercial expertise and intellectual capacity.  But that is not to say that such skills are not available to you in abundance from many of the councillors from the other parties represented on the Council.  So why not be bold?  Create a new Cabinet, a Cabinet of all the talents - a coalition if you like - for the benefit of the whole county?  There is masses of skills and talent out there in the Council Chamber: experts on childcare, economics, housing, inward investment, sustainable transport, planning.  But it is being woefully under-used at the moment.

This has nothing to do with the diminution of your 'power base' (that will be unaffected); but it has everything to do with representing the interests - free of the shackles of party dogma - of the whole community of Herefordshire.

German town abolishes traffic lights and codes. Accidents are now almost non-existent!

In this fascinating public experiment, a German town wanted to see what would happen to traffic flow if they got rid of street signs, lights and other restrictions.  The results are intuitive, but not what you would expect!  Everything got safer and faster.  Would this model hold true for other areas of infrastructure?  Drivers must give way to the left and not drive too fast.  That's the only rule.  Even the police love the new system, and best of all, people are safer on the road.  Drivers are much more aware and use eye contact and instincts.  People WANT to stop for other people and help things move more efficiently.

Full details here

Please feel free to distribute!

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/unscrutinised_machinations_permi#comment-45060

HIGHWAYS AGENCY News Release issued 14 November 2013

The A49/A4103 Starting Gate junction in Hereford will undergo improvement work next week thanks to a Highways Agency scheme.

Work to widen the A4103 westbound approach will begin on Monday 18 November and subject to weather conditions, will last for four weeks.

The scheme will increase capacity at this busy junction by creating a two lane approach to the roundabout. Other work will include resurfacing, new road markings, realignment of the roundabout and its four arms and new signage installation.

The work will take place overnight from Mondays to Fridays between 10.15pm and 6.30am. In addition, some overnight work could also take place during the weekends and will be clearly signed with diversions in place.

The scheme is part of a £317 million pinch point improvement programme designed to boost local economies, reduce congestion and improve safety on the strategic road network in England. The programme is part of the UK Government’s growth initiative, outlined during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2011.

The pinch point programme provides smaller scale improvements that can deliver big returns by easing congestion and making journey times more reliable for road users, including hauliers and commuters to help boost local economies and drive economic growth.

Kevin Harvey, Pinch Point Project Manager, said:

“The A49 Starting Gate roundabout gets very busy so I am sure motorists will welcome this work, to increase capacity and improve traffic flow.

“While the work is ongoing, diversions will be in place and clearly signed.

“We advise drivers to check local conditions and leave extra time for their journeys if necessary.”

During the course of the work, traffic on the A4103 will be diverted to the A438 Newmarket Street junction via the A645 Aylestone Hill Road, joining the A49 northbound. As the work progresses, this diversion route will change and motorists using the A4103 will be directed to the A4110 and then the A438 White Cross Road to its junction with Victoria Street, where motorists can then continue to the A49 northbound. The same routes will apply for traffic travelling in the reverse direction.

As the scheme nears its end, further diversions will be in place and clearly signed.

More information about the work is available form the Highways Agency Information Line on telephone number 0300 123 5000 or by email to: ha_​info@​highways.​gsi.​gov.​uk.

The big problem we have here is that we speak English which is a dominant global language. So it's a lot easier and more beneficial for people to come here than it is Belgium, Italy, Portugal etc where they potentially have to learn a third native language

I read this in the HT yesterday, and whilst I agree that it is an unacceptable act, I cannot help thinking there is more to the story:

http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/10802731.Woman_pushed_and_racially_abused_in_Hereford_car_park/

Woman pushed and racially abused in Hereford car park

A WOMAN was pushed over and racially abused in a Hereford car park.

The woman was allegedly approached from behind by a man in Merton Meadow Car Park last Thursday (November 7) at 8.45am.

The man – described as being in his 20s, about 5ft 10ins tall, of medium build and wearing a Nike hoody and crash helmet – reportedly pushed the woman over and was racially abusive before he drove off on a motorbike, believed to be a black Suzuki.

PC Tessa Whaley said: “This was an unprovoked racial assault and we would like to speak to anyone who saw it happen, saw a motorcyclist of that description in the area or recognises the man from the description.â€

Call 101, quoting incident number 150S 061113, with information

Now, I may well be wrong, but my point is that the assault was more than likely neither racist nor unprovoked.  Speaking as a motorist, scooter rider, cyclist and pedestrian, is it just me that thinks that the lady in question may well have cut-up the motorcyclist or almost knocked him off, without noticing?

I am not condoning his actions, but having been on the receiving end of some pretty shocking behaviour by motorists, is it not possible that the man in question, lost his temper and decided to let her know what his thoughts on the matter were?

As I say, I am not condoning his actions, but I think  turning it into a racially provoked attack is a bit uncomfortable in my view.

Discuss.

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I'm sure you'll agree, there are some ways to go about things that are better than others...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IV10M1RbEA

Taken from this weeks HT, this is not good news but great for the criminals

CRIME-fighting CCTV in the county is under threat as cuts of £50,000 in the next year will see a reduction in live monitoring.

Leominster town councillors were told at a council meeting last week that the monitoring hours for CCTV across the county are to be slashed down to almost half.

According to Councillor Peter Ellis – who has been liaising with Herefordshire Council about the future provision of CCTV in the county – the current monitoring hours will be cut from 127 hours a week to 69.

This means that although the cameras will continue to roll consistently, there will not always be someone watching – sparking fears that some crimes could go undetected.

Funding from Herefordshire Council is to be reduced by £50,000 in 2013/2014 and then a further £32,000 in 2014/2015.

Debbie Stringer, commissioning officer for CCTV, said the reduction for this year will be covered through funding reserves.

“Whereas the system will continue to record 24 hours, seven days a week, there is a risk that the level of real-time footage monitoring could be affected,†she said.

But additional funding has come from an “old friendâ€. West Mercia’s Police and Crime Commissioner Bill Longmore has applied to put an additional £50,000 towards the cost of running CCTV in the county.

And Herefordshire councillor Peter McCall said that despite the cuts, CCTV – which costs Leominster Town Council £10,000 a year – is “still good value for moneyâ€, adding that the time it saves is “phenomenalâ€.

He added that the footage can still be replayed to help find an offender.

Proposals will be implemented from April, subject to negotiations with town councils.

I had this put through my door yesterday in readiness for local elections in my ward (Tupsley) and I'm truly amazed at the twaddle being pedalled by Jason Kay who is the Conservative candidate.

With the track record of what the Council has done over the past 12-18 months the spin on this leaflet is just pure lies an untruths.

I know nothing about Mr Kay only that he owns/runs Aylestone Court Hotel. He will become just another Tory 'yes' man and the commitments he states on the leaflet will mean nothing. We can judge them by their track record which isn't good.

Anyway, would be good to get others views on this.

Oh, and in true Herefordshire Council fashion, it was put through my door 3 days after the surgery he held where we could have gone to listen to his oration :)

Whilst it's a little dated, I thought you might enjoy reading this;

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Hereford

The met office has sent out an update on the severe weather  warning issued yesterday. Winds in excess of 70 to 80mph which could bring down trees and cause structual damage across England and Wales leading to power cuts and disruption to transport on Monday morning rush hour traffic.

Environment Agency warns of surface water flooding incidents across most of England with forecasters predicting 20 to 40mm rain fall Sunday within 6-9 hours.The met office has issued an Amber warning meaning "be prepared" this is a developing situation and they advise people to stay up to date with forecasts and warnings over this weekend, and be prepared to change their plans". They describe the storm as "not one you see every year" and said the expected wind strengths would be similar to storms in March 2008, January 2007 and October 2000. It has also said that people should have things in place to protect themselves and their property.

Coming to Comedy Club at the Hereford Courtyard Theatre? Then why not take advantage of our Curry Night and make a proper night of it? Whenever there’s a Comedy Club The Cafe Bar rustle up a delectable meat and veggie curry with rice or naan bread to ticket holders for £8. If you want to be sure you don’t miss out – people who like laughing seem to like their curry! – and you fancy a 25% discount then book in advance by calling the Box Office and get your curry at £6, either when you book your tickets, or just add it on after. The next one is November 4th when Andy Parsons is on stage, should be a great night.

Can any one out there tell me where aluminium foil, aluminium trays etc, can be recycled? I e-mailed the council a few months ago with this question and received a standard long winded reply which in a long winded way said, we don't do it and no real reply to the question why not, it seems criminal that in this day and age we are throwing valuable metals into landfill. I could take it down to Portsmouth, my home town where it can be recycled through a church charity but it is not often that I get down there.

I have been working on this for a long time folks and well today is the day to reveal my fantastic idea, it is so good that I am sure that Hereford Council will won't to buy it immediately because they are that STUPID! anyway this is my solution to the traffic in Hereford and in particular the junction at Asda, I am positive that Colin James will help me to promote it so what do you think?

Just in time for Christmas too 

I hold my monthly councillor's 'Surgery' on Friday, 25th October, at Challenge Community Church, Belmont Road, Hereford. If you have a problem I may be able to help or know someone who can.

No need to make an appointment, just turn up between 5pm - 6pm. You can of course, contact me at any time if you need assistance. Tel: 01432 355224 or 07720869172. or email; cchappell@herefordshire.gov.uk

Chris Chappell

St. Martins & Hinton Ward

A school has been forced to close because of an outbreak of Britain's most venomous spider.

The Dean Academy, in the Forest of Dean, said it "had identified an issue with false widow spiders" in its ICT block and other areas of the site.

A letter from vice principal Craig Burns to parents said the school would be shut on Wednesday to be fumigated.

Conservationists believe a change in the climate could be the cause of an increase in sightings of the species.

From the BBC website