A consultation has been launched on proposed improvements to the streets and public spaces in Hereford’s historic Cathedral and River Wye Quarter.

Changes are being proposed for the layout and use of the streets and public spaces in the historic core of Hereford, around the Cathedral and the River Wye area - Broad St, King St and Bridge St, and surrounding areas.

The improvements aim to create an attractive, vibrant city centre to help support existing businesses and encourage people to stay longer when they visit, helping to boost the local economy.

The proposals give more space for pedestrians and cyclists, with a new layout and design that gives motor vehicles reduced priority. There are areas for small events, activities and street dining with lots of attractive seating and planting. The unique character and history of the area is a key consideration in the designs, along with making the area safe and enjoyable for all users.

To find out more about the proposals and to give your views, visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk/consultations.

You can visit Hereford Library to view a map of the proposals and complete a questionnaire.

The consultation closes on 8 November 2022.

Councillor John Harrington, Cabinet member infrastructure and transport said: “It’s important that we continue to invest in our beautiful and historic City so that everyone who visits or works there has the best possible experience and enjoys spending time there.

“We’ve been speaking with main stakeholders in the area to consider what improvements can be made in the Cathedral and River Wye Quarter of the City.

“We want this area to be a vibrant, active place where people want to spend time and where businesses want to be based. This area is unique in its heritage and feel, so it’s vital we listen to the local business community and residents to identify the measures that would work best to enhance this area.”

The cost of the design proposals is being met through the Hereford City Centre Improvement programme, which is jointly funded by Herefordshire Council and Marches LEP. Once the final designs are agreed the funding for implementation, such as from grants, will then be sought.

Does anyone know the history behind why there is scaffolding around the stair and lift tower behind Jacobs Court on Commercial Street?

Research shows that planning permission for this tower was granted in 2005 but was found to be in contravention of building regulations sometime after that. The scaffolding has been in place for many years now which is a shame as the main building is quite beautiful both inside and out.

Is there a plan to have the work completed or will it stay like this forever?

Congratulations to Sensory & Rye Tripadvisor Travellers Choice 2022 Award Winner! 👏

Web | https://www.sensoryandrye.co.uk

The famous Hasbro board game today launches their Winning Moves 'Hereford' themed edition and will be available to purchase from Philip Morris & Son from 10:00am this morning, also available from other retailers including Amazon.

The Long Shot: The Inside Story of the Race to Vaccinate Britain
The Inside Story of the Race to Vaccinate Britain written by Dame Kate Bingham, former Chair of the UK Government's Vaccine Taskforce, and Tim Hames

Link for ticket (event is free to attend)

 At the event Kate will be signing copies of "The Long Shot"

Refreshments provided

Date and time
Fri, 21 October 2022, 18:00 – 20:00

Location
New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering, Skylon campus Canary Drive Skylon Park Hereford HR2 6ST

___________________________________________________________________

Let's hope you don't have to be jabbed to attend!

A man from Hereford has been jailed for life for rape.

34-year-old Andrew Cooke-Edwards, of Aylestone Hill, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court today (Monday 3 October).

He will serve a minimum of nine years and nine months in prison.

Around 1pm on 19 November 2020, he attacked a 23-year-old woman on the river bank in Hereford.

He threatened to kill the woman unless she handed over her mobile phone. She did so but Cooke-Edwards orally and vaginally raped her. She was later found by members of the public.

Later that day, Cooke-Edwards was arrested and later charged with two counts of rape, making threats to kill and robbery.

He subsequently pleaded guilty.

Detective Constable Lawrence Smith said: “This was a shocking attack on an innocent young girl.

“We greatly admire her courage for helping to bring her attacker to justice and hope that this sentence might allow her to move on with her life.

“We strive to prosecute anyone responsible for a sexual crime and urge anyone with any concerns about an incident, whether recently or in the past, to please get in touch.

“You will be offered our full support and we will do everything we can to help you.”

Anyone with any concerns about a sexual crime can report it by visiting https://www.westmercia.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/ or calling 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.

You can also get help from the West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre.

Visit wmrsasc.org.uk or call 03456 461188.

A man has been charged in connection with the death of a 39-year-old man in Ross-on-Wye yesterday (Sunday 2 October).

Kestutis Lekunas of Bluebell Close in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire was charged with murder yesterday evening (Monday 3 October). The 35-year-old has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Worcester Magistrates Court later today (Tuesday 4 October).

A 39-year-old woman who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, in relation to the incident has been released and will face no further action.

A murder investigation has been launched following the death of a 39-year-old man in Ross-on-Wye.

At around 9:30am this morning (Sunday 2 October) police were called to Bluebell Close following reports of an altercation.

Officers attended along with colleagues from West Midlands Ambulance Service.

On arrival it was found that the man had sustained serious injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and a 39-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, both individuals remain in police custody.

Detective Inspector Stephen Cook said: “This is a shocking incident and our thoughts go out to the family of the man who lost his life.

“I understand that incidents of this nature can be alarming, but would like to reassure the local community that this is an isolated incident and there is no wider risk to the public.

“Our officers remain at the scene and you may see an increased police presence in the area over the coming days as our investigation continues.”

We’d like to hear from anyone who saw the incident or captured it on dash-cam / CCTV.

If you have any information that could help please report this online under the Tell Us About section of the West Mercia Police website quoting reference 184 of 2 October. If you are unable to report this online please ring 101.

Alternatively, if you have information but don’t feel comfortable speaking to police, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers. It is 100% anonymous, they never ask your name and they cannot trace your call or IP address. You can contact them at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or 0800 555 111.

📣 POSITIVE HEREFORD | Hereford City Council have created a brilliant annual event in the heart of our beautiful city and yesterday marked the start of a few weeks of non-stop activities, markets, music and craft plus lots more besdides.

The first day of the Hereford AppleFest ended with the headline act and the legendary #DoctorandtheMedics, live in Hereford High Town!

Thank you to Hereford City Council and all the sponsors involved for presenting this wonderful festival to Hereford 👏👏👏

#HerefordVoice | #HerefordNews | #PositiveHereford | #YourHerefordshire | #HerefordCommunity | #EmbraceHereford | #HerefordEvents | #HerefordCity | #Hereford | #WhatsOnHerefordshire

Mayor of Hereford Mark Dykes officially opened the 16 days of apple-themed festivities, beginning with live music in High Town from 12pm until 9pm today!

Don't miss out on the celebrations!

Details 👉 https://herefordcitycouncil.gov.uk/hereford-applefest/

📸 Hereford City Council

#HerefordVoice | #HerefordNews | #HerefordshireNews | #PositiveHereford | #EmbraceHereford | #HerefordCommunity | #HerefordEvents | #HerefordCity | #Hereford | #WhatsOnHerefordshire

West Mercia Police statement : A man from Shropshire has been charged following an affray that occurred at Q club sports bar (formally Hereford Snooker Centre).

Andrew Reading, of Allcroft Close in Onibury, Craven Arms has been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm, one count of possessing an offensive weapon and one count of affray.

The 33-year-old was remanded in custody and will appear at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on Monday 17 October 2022.

The charges relate to an isolated incident that took place on Saturday 17 September just after 5pm at  Q club sports bar (formally Hereford Snooker Centre).

See the original article here

Initial repairs to the High Street monument were carried out in 2020 following a genourous £30,000 donation from former Lancaster bomber Stuart Heaton.

Photo courtesy of Historic England 

However by early 2021, cracks started to appear on the memorial and green mould was clearly visible, particularly around the base.

Ledbury Town Council said repairs would take place as soon as possible.

Yesterday they issued the following statement;

"Ledbury Town Council would like to provide residents of Ledbury with an update on the progress on the repairs to the War Memorial in High Street, Ledbury.

The Council have appointed Caroe & Partners to act on their behalf and draw up a specification, apply for Listed Bulling Consent and to send out the specification to competent contractors

At an extraordinary meeting of Council in July Members were advised that the Listed Building Consent application had been submitted and that Caroe had identified three companies who had expressed an interest in tendering for the works. The details of these three companies were provided to Councillors to enable them to undertake due diligence prior to the tenders being received.

Members were also provided with a draft Preliminaries report for consideration and advised of questions that Caroe had raised prior to its completion.

It had been hoped that work would start to the War Memorial in late August and completed prior to the Remembrance Service in November. However due to a delay in receiving the Listed Building Consent this unfortunately was not the case. This has

now been received and three tenders for the works have also been received and will be considered at a meeting of Council on 6 October 2022.

The Council are mindful that the Memorial is the centre point for the Service of Remembrance on Friday, 11 and Sunday, 13 November and as such should be available on these dates. Sadly, this does mean that the works to repair the War Memorial and paving will not now commence until after the Remembrance Service in November.

The Council are working with Caroe & Partners to ensure the works are carried out as soon as possible, and on the appointment of the successful contractor will provide

more information on the start date, and timescales for completion.

The Council would like to apologise for the delays but hope that residents will understand that they want to make sure all necessary processes are followed to ensure the work to the War Memorial is carried out to a required standard.

Thank you for your patience in this matter"

Angela Price - Town Clerk
On Behalf of Ledbury Town Council
Contact details: Tel: 01531 632306
Email: clerk@ledburytowncouncil.gov.uk

There is an increased police presence in Hereford this evening.

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police told Hereford Voice

"Officers responded to a call at around 5pm today after a disturbance broke out at Hereford Snooker Centre in Coningsby Street.

Police and ambulance services are in attendance. Two men have been arrested. One man has been taken by air ambulance to hospital. There are a number of other casualties, but the extent of their injuries is unknown.

A police cordon will be in place around Coningsby Street, Widemarsh Street and the immediate vicinity.

Please be reassured that the incident is contained and there is no threat to the wider public, however, please avoid the area to allow the police to continue with their work.

Thank you"

Emergency services have been called to a property on Belmont Road (A465) in Hereford this morning.

Multiple vehicles with officers from West Mercia Police and crews from West Midlands Ambulance Service (Officialwmas) are at the scene.

More details as we receieve them later.

The National Moment of Reflection will take place at 8pm on Sun 18 Sept & be marked by a one-minute silence. This can be marked privately at home, with friends & family or at locally arranged community events & vigils. For details of larger public events: https://orlo.uk/8FrMS

Jamie and Lisa Turley used a false identity on Facebook to arrange waste removals and fly tipped waste in Bromyard

On 23 August, Herefordshire Council won an enforcement case against a married couple who were found guilty of fly tipping waste at the Openfields Caravan site in Bromyard, Herefordshire.

Over several hearings, the courts heard how in May 2020, officers discovered that Jamie Turley (33), currently serving a prison sentence, and Lisa Turley (34) of Openfields, Bromyard, used a false Facebook profile to advertise waste collections on local Facebook groups. Acting upon complaints, officers from Herefordshire Council’s Community Protection team visited Openfields caravan site in May 2020 and found large amounts of fly tipped waste across the site.

Officers searched the waste and found evidence which led them back to customers who had paid Mr and Mrs Turley to take away waste, the arrangements having been made on Facebook.

The courts also heard that the Fire Service had attended Openfields Caravan site to put out a large fire during the early hours of 31 May 2020. Council Officers promptly visited the site again and found that the fly tipped waste had been destroyed by the fire, but witnesses had seen Mrs Turley ignite the fire. Mr & Mrs Turley then failed to co-operate with Herefordshire Council officers, leading to a lengthy investigation.

At the first hearing, held at Herefordshire Magistrates on Tuesday 14th December 2021, Jamie Turley pleaded guilty to three charges of fly tipping, two charges of failing in his duty of care by not obtaining waste transfer notes, disposing of waste in a manner likely to cause pollution to the environment and harm to human health and one count of obstructing an investigation. He received a six month custodial sentence and was ordered to pay £156 victim surcharge payable on release.

Meanwhile Lisa Turley pleaded not guilty and was sent to a two day trial where she was found guilty of fly tipping charges and referred for sentencing.

On Tuesday 23 August 2022 at Hereford Magistrates Court, Mrs Turley was given an eighteen month community order and ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £685. A Criminal Behaviour order was also issued to Mrs Turley which includes conditions to prevent her from collecting, carrying, treating and disposing of any controlled waste and will be applicable for three years.

Marc Willimont, Head of Public Protection at Herefordshire Council said: “This case has taken a long time to get through the court system which has been extremely frustrating, although we are delighted with the final result. Most of these offences occurred on a council managed traveller site, so the cost of clearance has fallen on to the council tax payer. This therefore gives a strong message to any others who feel that is it ok to dump waste on council owned sites rather than pay for proper waste disposal like their competitor businesses. The officers should be congratulated for their thoroughness in this very long and protracted case”.

The maximum penalty for fly tipping is a £50,000 fine and/or five years imprisonment. The six month imprisonment for Mr Turley is amongst the most severe ever awarded by a court in Herefordshire.

The Community Protection Team regularly carry out spot checks on waste carriers and will investigate unlawful waste disposal and fly tipping cases that are reported via the Herefordshire Council website or by calling 01432 261761.

Visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk/recycling for information about responsible waste disposal for residents and businesses.

Asda object to Lidl planning application at the Three Counties Hotel on Belmont Road Hereford.

Jigsaw planning wrote a letter on behalf of Asda Stores Limited to object to the planning application (P221090/O) submitted to Herefordshire Council. This objection is based on two main points, which are discussed in more detail below, and are summarised as follows:

Loss of Community Facilities

• Retail Impact
• Loss of Trees
• Loss of Community Facilities

The proposed development will see the demolition of the Three Counties Hotel which is a trading business. The applicants Planning Statement references policies from the Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy at section 5.8 onwards. One policy it refers to is Policy SCI which relates to social and community facilities. The Planning Statement dismisses this policy as not being relevant to the proposal as hotel does not fall within the list of facilities listed in the supporting text. It should be noted that the supporting texts states "social and community facilities can include:" (our emphasis). It does not therefore seek to provide an extensive list of facilities that can be covered by the policy.

The hotel's website www.threecountieshotel.co.uk confirms that the hotel has a restaurant, bar and offers weddings as well as providing traditional accommodation. The website confirms that the bar facilities are for "residents and non-residents alike". It is clear from this that the hotel offers facilities for use by the local community through the bar and restaurant as well as hosting weddings and conferences. This is also confirmed by some of the representations to the application which confirm local residents opposition to the loss of the local facility.

As such it is considered that the proposal should be assessed against policy SCI. The policy states:

'Policy SCI - Social and community facilities

Development proposals which protect, retain or enhance existing social and community infrastructure

or ensure that newfacilities are available as locally as possible will be supported. Such proposals should be in or close to settlements, have considered the potential for co-location of facilities and where possible be safely accessible by foot, by cycle and public transport.

New development that creates a need for additional social and community facilities that cannot be met through existing social facilities -will be expected to meet the additional requirements through new, or extension of existing, provision or by developer contributions which meet the relevant tests of paragraph 204 of the NPPF.

Proposals involving the provision or expansion of social and community facilities will be expected to provide publicly accessible toilets (including facilities for disabled people and baby changing).

Existing facilities will be retained, unless it can be demonstrated that an appropriate alternative facility is available, or can be provided to meet the needs of the community affected; or it can be shown that the facility is no longer required, viable or is no longer fit for purpose; and where appropriate, it has been vacant and marketed for community use without success. Viable alternative facilities must be equivalent to those they replace. In terms ofsize, quality and accessibility."

There is no information to indicate that the existing facilities are no longer required, viable or fit for purpose. The proposal is therefore contrary to this policy.

Retail Impact

Planning law requires that applications for planning permission be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The National Planning Policy Framework 2021 ("NPPF") is a material consideration in planning decisions. NPPF carries a presumption in favour of sustainable development albeit this does not change the statutory status of the development plan as the starting point for decision making. Chapter 7 of the NPPF seeks to ensure the vitality of Town Centres.

In terms of retail impact, the applicant suggests that Lidl's trading philosophies differs from a traditional supermarket by selling from a limited core range (compared to other supermarkets) of mainly exclusive own labels. Flowever, whilst this may have been the original philosophy of the 'deep discounter' it is evident that there has been a slow but steady change towards that of a traditional supermarket when considering store size, ranges on offer, proportion of comparison goods, and labelled goods. This would be reflective in the turnover being more akin to that of other foodstore operators. The applicant has overstated the difference between the proposed operator and the existing supermarkets in the area. The proposed will compete with the town centre stores and therefore the Council must set aside the 'discounter' case which the applicant relies so heavily on.

The Council need to be content that they are approving a certain level of food retail floorspace which

could ultimately be occupied by any retailer. The Council also need to be aware of the new Class E of the Use Classes Order which ultimately means that whilst they are focusing on a retail development, the proposed development could be utilised for other services within Class E.

Loss of Trees

Policies LDl 'Landscape and Townscape' and LD3 'Green Infrastructure' require development proposals to enhance green infrastructure through the preservation and delivery of new green infrastructure. We note that the Senior Landscape Officer and the Tree Officer both object to the proposal on the grounds that it does not accord with these policies or the aims of the NPPF paragraphs 126 and 130 on high quality design. Asda support the position of these officers.

Given the concerns set out above, Asda consider that the application should be refused. We would be grateful if you could provide confirmation of receipt of this representation.

1061956723_RepsObj575846.pdf