Emergency services are currently at the scene of a serious collision on the A49 in Hereford towards Leominster.

The road is currently closed between Church Road and the junction to Upper Lyde.

Please use alternate routes while emergency services deal with the incident.

Road is closed at Arkstone, between Kingstone and Clehonger.

Emergency services including the Air Ambulance are at the scene dealing with the RTC involving a motorbike and a tractor.

Please avoid the area.

The Castle Green Pavilion project will enhance a much-loved but neglected community asset, open up access to the River Wye and add significantly to the infrastructure of Hereford’s visitor economy. The refurbished pavilion will provide a revitalised home for
the Youth Canoe Club, cafe facilities, a multifunctional and flexible community meeting space and a gallery celebrating local arts and heritage.

The Pavilion has the potential to become the heart of creative and innovative youth development in the city.

RATIONALE

Developing the Pavilion brings a “whole day offer” to people visiting Hereford. We will add to commercial developments in the city by balancing the strong retail development on the north-west of the city with an art and heritage offer on the south-east side; all in walking distance, giving visitors a chance to enjoy the essence of the city’s rural/urban feel.

There is also huge potential for Castle Green to become the Festival Village
for Hereford, having successfully hosted large scale events with up to 3,500 people on site. The green is a natural amphitheatre and with the transformed Pavilion as the anchor point, Castle Green can become nationally recognised as a vibrant space of culture, commerce, and community activity.

This project will support Hereford’s creative sector and underperforming visitor economy, delivering the Towns Fund Intervention Framework objective of:

Improved arts, cultural and heritage offer that is more visible and easier for residents/visitors to access.

FUNDING

Total Cost: £1,560,000 | Towns Fund: £1,560,000 

Towns Fund will facilitate the full refurbishment of the Pavilion.

The cutting back of trees in Muir Close goes back years when most requests were deemed not worth doing. There has been some lopping of certain trees which has resulted in the subsequent thickening up of greenery and the consequence of sunshine being blocked from several households. 

Is it too much to ask that the Council and BBLP can sort this problem out especially when people spend a lot of their free time in their gardens. Also my partner is confined to a wheelchair and can only sit in the back garden to enjoy the warmer weather and she misses the sunshine - remember vitamin D3 is good for you.

Over the years the matter of tree pruning has been passed back and forward between the Council and Housing Associations depending on whose land the trees stand on. I believe there is only one tree maintenance contractor to cover the whole of Herefordshire - a small saving on BBLP's maintenance budget considering they receive millions of pounds each month from council tax payers.

It would be nice if someone could let some light into our lives in these miserable enforced lockdowns, of which I am sure more will follow. At present there is tree cutting debris left on Council land since July 2020 and no one has moved it yet. Maybe they are waiting for me to take it to the tip when I get my 4 hours off a week from caring duties.

Here are some trees cut back in 2016 - looks a bit harsh.

In an article written on their website The Victorian Society strongly objects to the Diocese of Hereford’s plans to demolish a historic rectory in Hereford.

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Not only would this see Hereford’s architectural heritage diminished but reuse of existing buildings, rather than demolition, is vital to meeting the environmental commitments of both the council and the Church of England.

The striking Arts and Crafts style rectory of St Nicholas’ Church was built between 1909–10 by the local firm of Nicholson and Hartree. Historic England has noted the high quality of the materials used to build the rectory and the remarkable intactness of its original and detailed interiors. Destruction of this Edwardian building would see further erosion of Hereford’s heritage.

In March 2019 Herefordshire Council declared a climate emergency and, in September 2019, claimed that they would minimise their impact on the environment. Similarly, the Church of England has pledged to take climate change seriously, stating that ‘responding to climate change is an essential part of our responsibility to safeguard God's creation’. The decision to apply for demolition does not appear to take that pledge on board. Given the climate emergency, the sensitive reuse and retrofit of historic buildings is preferable to demolition and erection of new buildings, almost no matter how energy efficient they are. Demolishing this characterful and structurally sound building is wasteful. The diocese should rethink its approach and take the green and energy-efficient option and find a way to reuse the historic rectory or sell it to a buyer who would appreciate its charms. If not, Hereford Council must reject the application for its demolition if it is serious about meet its climate targets.

Historic England research has highlighted the importance of reuse of existing buildings finding that ‘sympathetically upgrading and reusing existing buildings, rather than demolishing and building new, could dramatically improve a building’s energy efficiency and would make substantial energy savings because the CO₂ emissions already embodied within existing buildings would not be lost through demolition.’

Tom Taylor, Conservation Adviser for the Victorian Society, said: ‘This former rectory is the kind of solid, well-designed and well-executed historic building that forms the fundamental texture of our surviving Victorian and Edwardian suburban built heritage. It has survived essentially intact, both inside and out. There is no suggestion that it is necessary for structural reasons to demolish it, or that it is beyond repair. There is also no suggestion that marketing the building as a single dwelling has been attempted or reasonably discounted. To replace this structurally sound, high-quality historic building and large garden with a row of 9 new dwellings and a car park will result in the loss of a non-designated heritage asset and harm the historic and architectural character of Hereford.’ 

 

Photographs courtesy of the Victorian Society 

The Courtyard Hereford are delighted to reveal The Courtyard Chase Lounge, a brand new independent restaurant, lounge bar and rooftop terrace, created in partnership with Chase Distillery

The restaurant will be serving a mixture of innovative small plates and traditional main dishes, offering a unique culinary experience.

The lounge bar is a classy yet comfortable space to relax with friends and sample a range of cocktails, fine wines and local Chase spirits.

The newly built rooftop terrace offers al fresco dining and a comfortable lounge area, serving up Mediterranean evening vibes.

The Courtyard 'Chase Lounge' will open Saturday 22nd May and you can book your tickets from April 21st at courtyard.org.uk.

📷 T.Henderson Photography

Last night a crew from Leominster Fire Station along with a fire crew from Kingsland fire station attended a front loader well alight in a field.

2 hose reels, breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera were used to extinguish the fire swiftly.

📷 HWFRS

Herefordshire Council teams have recently completed a programme of resurfacing and drainage works on the U91424 - Manley Cresent, Pembridge in Herefordshire.

The Knife Angel (Also referred to as the National Monument Against Violence & Aggression) is a contemporary sculpture formed from 100,000 confiscated knives and is an incredible 27ft in height and weighing over 3.5 tonnes, created by artist Alfie Bradley and the The British Ironwork Centre based in Oswestry.

This thought-provoking angel artwork is scheduled to be hosted by the magnificent Hereford Cathedral from 14 June for 28 days.

Hereford Voice is proud to be a 'Working Partner' with this fabulous charity.

Donations https://www.justgiving.com/knifeangelhereford

About Knife Angel Hereford

Alison Davies lost her son Mark Hamilton to knife crime in 2018, together with friends Meryl Cain, Pauline Strong and Jan Jefferies they decided to bring the Knife Angel to #Hereford in 2021 to help raise awareness of the catastrophic impact of violent crime on communities, families and individuals.

Please visit the website www.knifeangelhereford.co.uk

During the Knife Angel’s visit, the Knife Angel Hereford team will run a series of workshops and interactive events. It is envisaged that this initiative will continue after the Knife Angel leaves Hereford.

Another reason to #VisitHerefordshire this year!

Sad to learn the sad news of the passing of Sir Clive Richards, he was a great supporter of so many good causes in Herefordshire and throughout the UK, including a huge generous donation of 1 Million pounds to St Michael's Hospice - Hereford.

Sir Clive Richards - Photograph courtesy of St Michael's Hospice Hereford.

The Hospice said;

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Everyone at St Michael’s Hospice is deeply saddened to hear the news that Clive Richards has died.

Clive, and his wife Sylvia, were unwavering in their dedication to their Hospice.

Their profound kindness was never more evident than in 2014 when the Clive & Sylvia Richards Charity donated £1 million to the St Michael’s Hospice Redevelopment Appeal. This generosity helped build our new Hospice buildings which are enabling us to care for more people than in any time since St Michael’s first opened its doors in 1984.

The Inpatient Wing is named in the couple’s honour.

Clive chose to support St Michael’s Hospice because he felt passionate about the work we do and that the Hospice ‘plays a vital role in the community’.

Clive continued his commitment to supporting St Michael’s.

He opened the gardens of his Ullingswick home to raise funds and, as recently as 2019, helped the St Michael’s Hospice Race Day at Hereford Racecourse become an overwhelming success, raising almost £50,000.

Speaking that same year, Clive said he and Sylvia had given away millions of pounds to good causes over three decades - and had no plans to stop.

‘We just try to help people, particularly those who can’t help themselves,’ said Clive.

‘Once you’ve made a certain amount of money, you can only spend so much.

‘I’ve had a hell of a good life and been able to do what I want. ‘But you can’t take it with you, so we came to the conclusion that we would give our wealth away.’

Clive gave the Hospice and its Trustees confidence and reassurance needed to deliver our mission of providing more care to more people in more places.

After meeting with Clive, Hospice Trustees always returned with his wise words ringing in their ears.

It’s his generosity and sound advice, often delivered with good humour, which we’ll miss the most.

Charity

The Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity (CSRC) was established on 16 May 1986 by Clive Richards, a serial entrepreneur and his wife Sylvia.

The Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity is committed to supporting Education, Healthcare, Heritage and Arts

CSR Charity Website

Herefordshire Council contractors Herefordshire Highways (Balfour Beatty Living Places) have been working collaboratively with Highways England and Kier to clear litter safely on a Highways England night closure of the A40 Monmouth bound on Friday 16th April. 

The teams worked through the night and removed 1100kgs of litter from the central reservation and the junction of the A4137 to the Ganarew Bridge Herefordshire.

A Bartonsham Dairy refrigeration lorry caught fire at the top of Aylestone Hill in Hereford this lunch time. 

Emergency services are at the scene and the road (A465) has been closed in both directions while firefighters and police deal with the incident.

Photo courtesy of Karen Pardoe

Hereford planners have approved outside seating for both The Green Dragon hotel and The Pizza Works in Broad Street Hereford 

Outside seating at The Green Dragon Hotel

In a message posted on their website The Pizza Works wrote;

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"Wohoo our outside seating area has been approved!! You can feast on awesome pizzas , slurp fab retro cocktails or indulge in our crazy freakshakes Tuesday - Saturdays after 6pm and Sunday from 12pm! No booking necessary! Takeaway and delivery still available"

This along with the recent approval of outside seating for the The Green Dragon Hotel will revitalise Broad Street and help boost business for the hospitality sector which has suffered greatly during the lockdowns.

The Bromyard Centre owned by Herefordshire Council and managed by Social Enterprise and Registered Charity Halo Leisure was forced to close in March 2020 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

The plan to reopen in August 2020 along with all other leisure facilities wasn’t possible due to severe and deliberate damage caused to the roof of the Centre through vandalism.

Since then the contractors working on behalf of the Council have made the building watertight and the internal works to repair the substantial water damage caused by the vandalism is progressing.

Alex Haines, Halo’s Partnership Manager said,

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 “The task of replacing the electrical system including the fire alarms/emergency lighting throughout the entire Centre is more extensive than we initially thought. This means we will not reopen this month along with the other Halo centres in the County as we had all hoped and planned for. We are very disappointed but this crucial work is needed to make the building safe.”

Herefordshire Council and the Contractors are doing all they can to progress as quickly as possible within the demanding constraints of a Covid compliant workplace. They have developed a scheme of work which indicates a handover to Halo by the end of the Summer 2021.  

Chris Jenner, Assistant Director for Technical Services at Herefordshire Council, said:

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 “We know that Halo customers and the community in general are anxious to see their Centre reopen as soon as possible. We share in the frustration that this unnecessary hardship has brought about for the town, at a time when the benefits of activity, exercise and community cohesion have never been more essential and appreciated.”

Alex Haines went on to say, “Everyone involved is working hard to reopen the Centre. We care passionately about keeping community leisure centres open and viable for the long term. We've done it for nearly 20 years in Bromyard and we intend to continue to do so for many years to come.”

Halo has developed a number of options for local people to help them keep active during the Centre's closure. Visit haloleisure.org.uk/news/1460-your-options-whilst-the-bromyard-centre-is-closed

Over the next week more seating, planters & trees will be added creating a more attractive environment for residents, workers, shoppers & visitors to enjoy.

Photograph courtesy of Herefordshire Council

More info from Herefordshire Council 👉 http://orlo.uk/q2Fmg

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews from Ewyas Harold Fire Station were called to a car fire in Garway yesterday, upon arrival the crew found the vehicle was well alight.

Using BA and hose reel they crew extinguished the fire.

Unfortunately the car was totally destroyed, even the alloys had partly melted.

Thankfully no persons were injured.

📷 HWFRS

Have your say on the future of rubbish and recycling in the county. Monday 7 December 2020 to Sunday 7 February 2021. This consultation is closed. Consultation reports are available.

The council's current rubbish and recycling collection contract is due to end in 2023.

Since the current service was introduced the government has announced a new national resource and waste strategy and we will have to make changes to collections to ensure these new requirements are met. Also, in 2019 the council declared a climate and ecological emergency and has an ambition to make changes for a more sustainable county.

In December 2020 – February 2021 we asked for your views on the future of rubbish and recycling collection services in the county.

You can read the outcome of the consultation in the documents below:

Summary consultation outcome

Full consultation outcome report

All of the feedback gathered during the consultation will now be considered along with other reports before councillors make a final decision on how rubbish and recycling collection services are provided in the future. This decision is expected to be taken in April/May 2021.

Other documents:

Future of waste summary - residents

Future of waste summary - businesses

Herefordshire Council asked people across Herefordshire to let them know their thoughts on the future of waste and recycling in county.

Find out what was said, take a look at the results of the consultation & find the next steps, HERE