FREE PARKING, travel and late night shopping on offer in the run up to Christmas

Free parking is available on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 December, when the council’s public car parks in Kington waive their fees.

Herefordshire Council have been working with town councils, Hereford City Council and Hereford Business Improvement District to offer free parking in council car parks for the following events:

Kington winter food and drink festival: Saturday 4 December (the event has hired the car parks for a second day of free parking on Friday 3 December)

• Ledbury Christmas lights switch on: Saturday 4 December
• Leominster Victorian Fair: Saturday 11 December
• Support Ross on Wye shopping: Saturday 11 December

Hereford late night shopping: after 4pm in Hereford on Wednesdays 8, 15 and 22 December (including the Old Market).

This includes all council public car parks and on-street pay and display bays. The free parking offered does not apply to any private car parks unless stated.

As usual, it is free parking in the market towns every Sunday and after 6pm.

More seasonal events across the county www.herefordshire.gov.uk/events.

Cllr Harrington says:

“We have liaised with the city and town councils and key stakeholders to offer some free parking in the run up to Christmas.

“I encourage all those who can to visit your local shops and support them after what has been a challenging period. As well as the free parking on certain days and evenings, it’s worth reminding people to take advantage of our free weekend bus travel.”

Herefordshire tops the national city league with 105,614 roadworks in the last two years. 

The west English county of Herefordshire has seen the most road and street works undertaken in the past two years by the council and utilities. With over 100,00 it is the only council area of any type in the country with a six-figure number of roadwork projects. Furthermore, it is almost 90,000 more than the national average for the same period.

On average it is estimated that UK motorists lose 28 hours a year due to being stuck in traffic caused by roadworks, and almost everyone in the country has been impacted by them at some point.

Even small works in the UK can feel like they take an eternity compared to other countries.

For example, in 2016 a major road in the Japanese city of Fukuoka was completely destroyed by a massive 15-meter deep sinkhole, this was completely repaired and reopened in six days.

Hereford Taxis are on the verge of strike action over flawed policies which Herefordshire Council licensing teams are trying to impose and are refusing to engage with the drivers and the Hereford Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Association over these policies.

Licences from next April could be refused for cars more than five years old. The age of the vehicle shall be determined by the date of its first registration, as shown on the registration document.

The new proposals would also require existing drivers to complete a geographic knowledge and navigational skills test (also required for new applicants) which is proving to be extremely difficult and only has a 20% pass rate which potentially would result is losing 80% of existing drivers.

In an email to the trade from Herefordshire Council they state the following sentence;

“To make it clear you will not be able to discuss or argue any proposed changes you would like to see made to the policy”

The consultation period has now been extended until the 6th of December however if things remain as they are, it is increasingly likely that the association will have to pay heed to its membership and organise strike action in the very near future and a strike could be in place this Christmas!

The original draft policy is attached together with a revision copy below;

EH_LIC_Draft_Taxi_Licensing_policy_with_Appendix.pdf

Revision below

Revised conditions 2021.docx

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews from Kingsland Fire Station were called to a house fire at Stoke Prior in Herefordshire just after 5pm yesterday evening they were needed to back up their colleagues from Leominster Fire Station who were already at the scene and tackling the blaze.

Photo courtesy of Kingsland Fire Station 

3 teams using breathing apparatus were used to fight the fire and cut away to stop it spreading further. Further assistance came from Bromyard Fire Station fire fighters.

A group supporting women through domestic abuse has praised the way the service has been supported by Herefordshire Council

Members of the council’s adult scrutiny body were given an update on Herefordshire’s Domestic Abuse Strategy in a report which highlighted that: ‘Domestic abuse is a complex and pervasive issue which cannot be addressed fully by any single organisation. The overall purpose of the strategy is to provide direction to partner organisations on how they can work collaboratively to prevent, identify and respond to domestic abuse.’ The strategy will also enable compliance with new legislation in this year’s Domestic Abuse Act.

West Mercia Women's Aid has been involved in reviewing the Domestic Abuse Strategy. CEO, Sue Coleman, said: ‘Herefordshire Council has been supporting domestic abuse services for some time,’ adding that the services in the county were such that those escaping domestic abuse could be offered safe and secure accommodation.

Over the past year support for services has significantly increased the capacity to support victims and their children in an enhanced safe accommodation offer, with specialist support for those with multiple complex needs.

Referring to the new women’s refuge in Hereford Sue Coleman said that the refuge was: ‘As good as it gets across the country and we are very proud of it.’ She told the council’s Adult Scrutiny Committee that families who had used the refuge were very appreciative of the combined privacy and community support alongside the quality of service at a difficult time.

West Mercia Women's Aid have also been working with Connexus and Herefordshire Council to develop satellite properties across the county that would allow greater flexibility and support for families escaping domestic abuse.

Ms Coleman told councillors that any strategy must ensure that children are also considered as victims where domestic abuse has occurred and that the aid group was working with the council’s children’s department to ensure children got the right support when they needed it.

The committee heard a first-hand account of how damaging emotional abuse can be, often with little evidence, and how counselling services must be made affordable as it was often through counselling that women were signposted to support services – and unaffordable counselling discriminated against the poorest and most vulnerable in society.

New attractive art displays promoting Ledbury’s Heritage now greet passengers at Ledbury Railway Station. The displays, in three sections, give a history of Ledbury’s heritage buildings in original calligraphic script, original artwork of the buildings surrounding a location map and a history of the coming of the railway. The whole display is the work of three local artists: Caroline Owen Thomas who is the calligrapher, Jeanette McCulloch and Cheryl Davies who shared the artwork.

The displays are located in an attractive three bay glazed cabinet mounted in a landscaped planter. The project has been managed by Gareth Calan Davies of Rail & Bus for Herefordshire and funded by the West Midlands Railway ‘Your Community, Your Fund’ scheme with assistance from Ledbury Town Council and Ledbury Civic Society.

Fay Easton, Head of Community & Stakeholder at West midlands Railway commented:

"The Heritage Information Board for Ledbury is a triumph for the designers and organisers. The board itself is beautiful, way beyond the functional information boards at stations up and down the country, this is a work of art as are the contents. The quiet determination of the project leaders to 'get this done' has been impressive and from WMR perspective the community leads have been a joy to work with. Not only Lovely Ledbury brought to life on that stunning board, but Lucky Ledbury in its community champions."

Project Leader Gareth commented ‘We have worked hard over the year as an art team to get this up and running and have received tremendous support from Fay Easton who is Head of Community and Stakeholder at West Midlands Railway. The result is a stunning display. We are also grateful for the assistance we have received from Ledbury Town Council, Ledbury Civic Society and Sustainable Ledbury. The project is part of a wider remit to promote Ledbury tourism and strengthen the link between town and railway. Brochures depicting the project are also being produced for distribution through the West Midlands’.

West Mercia Police are appealing for witnesses after two properties near to Longworth Lane, Bartestree in Herefordshire had pumpkins thrown at windows and doors at approximately 00:40am. This woke the occupants up, where laughing and giggling could be heard.

The second property had two of its windows smashed.

Anyone who can provide information please contact the police using reference - 00265_06112021

Our first HD Webcam has already been LIVE Streaming for a month!

Sponsored by Hereford Voice - Hereford's first 'Hereford LIVE' HD Webcam started streaming at the beginning of October. A few weeks later we began LIVE Streaming from the heart of our fabulous city centre and WOW what a success it has been!

Combined we have had over 51,000 unique visitors viewing, how is that for promoting our beautiful city!!

Check out the bird's-eye view of The Victoria Bridge and the River Wye hosted by our good friends at The Pavilion, Castle Green in Hereford

LIVE FEED https://hfd.news/k17

A superb panoramic view of High Town and the The Black and White House Museum hosted by our good friends at WorkHere: Community Workspace, Hereford

LIVE FEED https://hfd.news/q7a

Hereford Voice is now part of the Skyline network of high definition panoramic webcams scattered around the world with the sole goal of promoting tourism, art and culture!

Statistics | You will be able to see how many people are online as well as how many visitors there have been viewing our fantastic city.

Web | www.herefordlive.uk

River Wye Hosts | https://www.castlegreenpavilion.co.uk

High Town Hosts | https://www.workhereford.co.uk

If you have a great view in Herefordshire that you would like to share and are interested in having a LIVE webcam sponsored by Hereford Voice please get in touch.

Premium | If you would like to view any of the cameras on the network it is completely FREE but there is just one 5-10 second advert however, for a small fee of €9.50 per year you can go Premium. The Premium option allows access to features and services that will render your navigation experience on SkylineWebcams more exciting. (These small fees are nothing to do with Hereford Voice and a purely an optional service which is provided by Skyline Webcams)

With Premium you can explore the site without ads, view webcams in Full Screen mode, quickly access your favourite webcams, take pictures and share them on the site, communicate with other users thanks to the chat, travel from one corner of the globe to another in just a few seconds with the interactive map and the search engine.

More exciting news coming soon!

Good atmosphere and plenty of people tonight at the Central Tupsley Community Group Firework Display at Tupsley Quarry Hereford.

Guilty plea after Herefordshire Council enforcement officers investigate fly tipping in the countryside

Nicola Sheehan pleaded guilty to a breach of the Environmental Protection Act at a hearing held at Hereford Magistrates Court in October.

Sheehan was fined £120 and ordered to pay costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £34 for dumping waste in Herefordshire.

Magistrates learned by video link how the former Hereford resident had unlawfully tipped domestic waste in woodland in Aconbury. During the investigation by the council’s community protection team, Sheehan denied the charges and refused to cooperate with the enforcement officers. However, evidence was shown that led to this successful prosecution last month.

David Hough, Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards service manager, said:

“Unlawful waste disposal and fly tipping costs council tax payers tens of thousands of pounds each year. Residents and businesses should ensure they are transferring the waste to an authorised person who will dispose of the waste legally. Anyone found fly tipping will be prosecuted.”

Herefordshire Council’s community protection team regularly carry out spot checks on waste carriers. They investigate unlawful waste disposal and fly tipping cases reported via the council’s website or by calling 01432 261761.

Mindless individuals have vandalised the newly refurbished public toilets in the Maylord Shopping Centre in Hereford City Centre. 

If anyone has any information about who was responsible for this senseless act please contact Hereford Police, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers UK if you prefer to remain anonymous.

On Twitter today:

COP coming to Glasgow. Leaders staying at Gleneagles Hotel & 20 Tesla cars (£100K each) bought to ferry them 75km back & forth. Gleneagles has 1 Tesla charging station, so Malcolm Plant Hire contracted to supply Diesel Generators to recharge Tesla’s overnight. Couldn't make it up.

Hereford Mayor Cllr. Paul Stevens did the honours by cutting the ribbon earlier this week.

They have so many beautiful, original gifts on sale, handmade by their wonderful team of artists.

Open Monday - Saturday 10am - 8pm

📸 The Courtyard Hereford

CHECK OUT OUR LIVE RIVER WYE WEBCAM 👉 LIVE FEED https://hfd.news/k17

'Hereford LIVE' now have a webcam monitoring the River Wye levels with 24/7 LIVE streaming.

Hereford Voice have sponsored 'Hereford LIVE' HD Webcams from the heart of our fabulous city!

Check out this panoramic view of The Victoria Bridge and the River Wye hosted by our good friends at The Pavilion, Castle Green in Hereford.

Part of the Skyline network of high definition panoramic webcams scattered around the world with the sole goal of promoting tourism, art and culture!

Web | www.herefordlive.uk

Host | https://www.castlegreenpavilion.co.uk

If you have a great view in #Herefordshire that you would like to share and are interested in having a LIVE HD Webcam sponsored by Hereford Voice get in touch with us.

Gwent Police are investigating the possibility of illegal poaching this morning in our neighbouring county of Monmouthshire, sadly one dog was found deceased on the grounds.

Investigations are being conducted by the Police rural team to find the perpetrators.

Please contact the Police on 101 if you have any information.

A seasonal spike in sightings of False Black Widow spiders is likely to be caused by males in search of a mate, a national trade body has said.

The British Pest Control Association (BPCA), is urging people to avoid contact with False Black Widow spiders, but not to panic if they spot one in their home.

The spiders are not aggressive, but may bite if there is accidental contact.

Natalie Bungay is Technical and Compliance Manager at BPCA. She said: “Requests for False Widow pest control call-outs tend to peak in October.

“The spiders increase in numbers during warmer months, but in late summer and autumn they may become particularly conspicuous as the males wander more extensively in search of a mate.

“False Widow spiders are not aggressive and will not launch an unprovoked attack on people.”

False Widow spiders are not aggressive and will not launch an unprovoked attack on people.

Usually sited at least 1.5m off the ground, False Widow webs are a loose tangle of threads with a tube of silk in one corner leading into a crevice where the spider will hide during the day.

The webs are typically found around window and door frames as well as in eaves, porches and conservatories.

False Widows are venomous and their bites have been compared to wasp stings, but issues arising from spider bites are more likely to be the result of a secondary infection, than the bite itself.

The BPCA’s online guide to False Widows includes advice on how to identify them and what to do if you spot one in your home.

Natalie added: “If you’re concerned about spiders in your home, seek advice from a pest management professional.

“You can remove a spider from your home by putting a small carton or glass over it and sliding a piece of card between the opening and the surface. You can also use a vacuum cleaner to remove spiders and their webs if you don’t want to get too close!

“However, if you’re unsure of the species, or don’t feel confident to tackle the issue yourself, get in touch with a BPCA member.”

BPCA members are trained, experienced professionals with access to a range of specialist products not available to the public.

They are trained, qualified and regularly assessed to the British Standard in Pest Management BS EN 16636.

To find a professional pest controller visit bpca.org.uk/find

On the 8th of March 2019 activists and campaigners, including many young people of Herefordshire, put pressure on elected politicians and marched on the Shire Hall demanding the council declare a climate emergency and act on climate and ecological breakdown.  

Code Red for Humanity – Herefordshire’s Red Rebels and climate activists head for COP26 to urge world leaders for decisive action on climate change.

Ellie Chowns, former green MEP for the West Midlands, a lecturer in international development and the cabinet portfolio holder for environment and economy and skills for Herefordshire Council, told a meeting of Friends of the Earth that moment was pivotal in Herefordshire’s journey towards net zero carbon. ‘Initially I was sceptical about a declaration, but I admit to being a convert because it gives us a framework to operate within and that framing makes all the action happen. As a council we have to continually ask ourselves: ‘how does that align with our climate emergency declaration?’  That would not have happened had it just been left with politicians – it took activists to push us to that point.’

‘We need to look at all the opportunities available to lay the foundations for this new, net zero, world. We have to be able to say as a council that we are building climate and ecological considerations into everything we do.’ 

Coun Chowns said: ‘The covid recovery plan of more than £6 million has been supporting employment, health and well-being and supporting people to get into the towns to help rejuvenate the high street while giving people confidence to get out and about. A lot of councils have made parking free and that was one of the proposals that came forward. We said: ‘that doesn't really compute with our commitment to sustainable transport’, we shouldn't be subsidising car parking – we should be putting that money into buses and bikes to achieve the same thing and that is why we can now support free Beryl bikes over the weekends and during Cop26 and why we can put on free buses at weekends. We can change the way money is spent from changing support for something that doesn't work towards a net-zero world to something that does.’

As leaders gather for the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Coun Chowns believes Herefordshire is making really good progress, saying: ‘This is a tribute to officers, activists and our coalition of Independents and Greens - we have a fully shared agenda. There is a really strong bedrock of cross-party support for action on climate change which is really important. It is exciting that we are working cooperatively in Herefordshire. There is so much to do and of course the urgency is enormous and we are not getting any of it done quickly enough’. 

‘We have a really strong team of active officers on climate and sustainability in the county,’ said Coun Chowns, adding: ‘who, despite the challenges of austerity have made good progress towards reducing our carbon footprint over the years. We are on course to reduce the council’s carbon footprint by 75% by 2024/25. But there is much to do to reduce the county’s emissions as a whole, particularly in building and transport.’

‘As a council we recognise the long-term cost of not tackling action on climate change and we have to make some decisions that will imply slightly increased short-term costs in order to do the right thing long-term.’

Actions the council has taken since 2019 include a standard on net-zero, affordable, social housing, a climate and ecology checklist for planning, described as soft pressure until a supplementary planning document on sustainable buildings is agreed. ‘Within planning law we can't just say you all need to conform to net zero now but we can lift the bar in our local plan and that is what we intend to do with the Core Strategy review, and as we revise the local plan we can build true sustainability into the Core Strategy where transport and housing have such a bearing on spatial planning.’ 

Coun Chowns said that there are two big challenges for reducing the collective footprint in the Herefordshire – buildings and transport. ‘It’s all very well saying we will build our own net zero housing, but there are 85,000 existing homes in Herefordshire that provide an excellent backdrop for a potential Retrofit scheme in Herefordshire. 

Along with free weekend buses through the Covid Recovery Fund, Herefordshire Council leaders have instigated funding for three new county carpools – including electric vehicles. ‘Electric vehicles are part of the solution but they still involve tonnes of stuff, metal etcetera, to move around 70 kg of person and it's a wasteful way to move a person around. A review is taking place of the network of cycle and walking paths around the city. While Hereford’s Greenway is fantastic, anyone who tries to cycle through the city knows that you just need to come across one car parked in a bike lane and you are stuffed, so new cycle lane guidance which says that lanes need to be physically separated from traffic is really good practice, even if it means that we have had to take current plans for a cycle lane in St Owen Street back to the drawing board,’ Coun Chowns said.  

Electric hopper buses is a project Herefordshire City Council put forward for support by the Town’s Fund. Electric buses will circuit the town and enable people to hop on and off. ‘It's a brilliant idea, said Coun Chowns: ‘The data collected in the western bypass review was that the vast majority of journeys are done inside Hereford city or people coming into the city from outside and trying to find ways of getting around the city.’

‘Cancelling the bypass was a really big decision supported by nearly 500 pages of reports. A proper review had to be done because we were a new administration and we were serious about acting on the climate emergency declaration. We said that the criteria used in assessing different options needs to take climate and environmental considerations in to account - they had to be properly weighted in the decision-making because they had not been previously. I see this as the translation of a broad declaration of a climate emergency into a set of specific references for the review of a project that was going to cost around £200 million just to build a bypass and that review showed very clearly, with really strong evidence, that you could get as much congestion reduction at about a third of the price and far less environmental damage. The challenge we have now is delivering on all the other really good measures because it's still £70 million that is not floating around. The government have made a lot of noise about bus and cycling strategies but is yet to back that up with funding.’

Whilst the council has taken great strides in reducing its own carbon footprint, Cllr Chowns said there was a lot of work to do in the county: ‘We are setting up a county-wide climate and nature partnership to bring in all stakeholders like big emitters as well as community activists to try and forward this piece of work that desperately needs to happen in the county.’

The council is also using the dividend that it earns from the energy company it buys its energy from towards a climate reserve that is funding a new community grant scheme for small-scale community projects tackling the climate and nature emergency. A communication campaign will address behaviour change in the wider community and a Climate Assembly will convene in January 2022 which will include a properly represented sample of Herefordshire residents to come up with proposals that the administration can support at the budget meeting. ‘Participatory budgeting,’ said Cllr Chowns, ‘is really exciting and it will happen in Herefordshire and shows our commitment to trying to do politics a little bit differently.’

I have been trying to book an appointment at the Surgery on the telephone since 08:00 this morning, but as of yet been unable to speak to a human being. You obviously are in a queue so you are asked to dial 5 for a ring back. The phone rings but no one answers at the other end. Has anyone else had this problem? 

I got my partner's daughter to ring from her home in Oxford at 08:30 today and she got straight through and has told me the surgery will call me back this morning. I hope so.