We published this article in May 2020 on a A £2 billion package to create new era for cycling, walking and trials for e-scooters.

Last Thursday we published another article here highlighting that Beryl Bikes had recently launched e-Scooters and e-Bikes and trials for e-scooters across some cities in the UK were already taking place.

We can today reveal that Herefordshire Council have been unsuccessful in their first bid for e-Scooter trials however, all is not lost because the council have been advised that they are still being considered for any expansion of the trials.

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #hereford #herefordshire

Last night at 21.55 a meteor was captured by many cameras and dash cams across the UK. We receieved many reports from across Herefordshire as well as people hearing a loud bang

The UK Meteor Network captured this spectacular footage of the meteor entering the atmosphere on their own camera.

Rail and Bus for Herefordshire in partnership with West Midlands Railway launch a new project for Ledbury Railway Station under the banner of 'Your Community Your Fund'

Ledbury Town

Ledbury is an historic medieval market town on the West Midlands Railway network. It owes its origins to the church and the establishment of St Katherine’s Hospital for travellers by the Bishop of Hereford c.1231 at a crossing of medieval pack-horse routes. The hospital remains todays as well as its Master’s House from which the establishment and small farm was supervised.

Around the cross roads grew the medieval town which is now a jewel of heritage buildings from Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian times.

The Railway

The railway arrived in 1861 after considerable engineering works boring tunnels through the Malvern Hills and spanning the valley of the Leadon at Ledbury by a magnificent viaduct which still carries the trains today. The station at Ledbury was a fine building which also had a licensed refreshment room. There was a large goods yard and a small locomotive shed. In 1885 a branch line through the town to Newent and Gloucester was built with a superb skew bridge over the Hereford Road. The line closed in the 1950s and today it is a town trail that will take you from the station to the town centre.

Town Grows - Railway Declines

By the 1960s Ledbury was a growing town but the railway was in decline. The reshaping of British Railways (the Beeching Report) saw the closure of many stations and lines. Ledbury was lucky to retain its trains but the station was reduced to an unstaffed halt and the splendid buildings were demolished. The station and trains grew remote from the town as cars and buses became the main form of transport.

In the late 1980s a transport geographer living in the town negotiated with British Rail to open a small wooden ticket and information office at the station and operate as an agency. This was eventually agreed and it became one of the forerunners of community rail linking the community and its station. The enterprise still functions today.

Rediscovering the Railway

The project of the late 1980s was but a beginning. Rail usage began to increase. Between 1998 and 2018 the numbers increased by over 100% from 101,387 to 216,606 passengers per annum (source: Government annual station usage statistics).
In 2021 Ledbury is set to further build on the previous success with a new project at the station. The project, funded through a grant from the West Midlands Trains Community Fund, with additional support from Ledbury Town Council and Ledbury Civic Trust, will enable a new glazed display cabinet to be positioned at the station containing an art map of the town and its heritage buildings together with a history of the town and its railway in original calligraphic script.

Local community artists will be producing the art and calligraphic work and the project will be managed for Rail & Bus for Herefordshire by local transport geographer Gareth Calan Davies.
This is an exciting community project designed to bring station, community and town even further together whilst promoting Ledbury as a jewel of a heritage town on the West Midlands Rail network. It will help encourage visitors to the town and strengthen the community whilst at the same time supporting and encouraging use of the train service.

Find out More and Keep in Touch

Regular news items about the project will be produced including more info about the history of the town and railway together with introductions to the artists involved in the project.

To keep in touch contact Gareth Calan Davies, project manager for RBfH onghal@btinternet.com telephone 01531 633594 www.rbfh.org.uk

To find out more about this and other community rail projects throughout the West Midlands contact Fay Easton
Stakeholder & Community Manager at West Midlands Railway onFay.Easton@wmtrains.co.uk www.wmr.uk/about-us/your-community-your-fund

PDF attached

Town and Railway Powerpoint V5.pdf

Having Your Say | Hereford Voice Councillor Sessions.

At Hereford Voice our slogan has always been 'Having Your Say' and through our network we are going to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to some of our Councillors.

Cabinet Member - Finance and Corporate Services - Councillor Liz Harvey has agreed to be put under the spotlight to answer your questions in the second series of our 'exclusive' Q & A sessions.

Rules: Abuse will Not be tolerated and offensive comments will be deleted and may also result in that person being banned. Please ask sensible questions on any subject that Cllr Harvey maybe able to address and answer in her capacity at Herefordshire Council.

Councillor Elizabeth Harvey

Herefordshire Council tax setting meeting is this coming Friday 5th March, which is formally ratifying all the parish precepts, the fire authority and police charges and the county council tax rise which have each already been debated and agreed by their respective authorities. Cllr Harvey is more than happy to explain all about that however, please be minded that there is no scope on Friday to revisit the 4 99% county tax uplift. Please ask your questions, we have set out a few examples below;

• Finance 
• Council Budget 
• Council Tax
• Value for money
• Corporate Services

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #hereford #herefordshire #hfdvcs

Having Your Say | Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions' Q&A Continued - Part 6 🔷Transport Strategy (Bypass Bikes, Bridges)🔷

These are divided up into 3 separate responses - part 1/3

At Hereford Voice our slogan has always been 'Having Your Say' and through our network we are going to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to some of our Councillors.

Cabinet Member - Infrastructure and Transport Councillor John Harrington agreed to be put under the spotlight and to answer as many questions put to him in our first exclusive 'Councillor Sessions' series here https://hfd.news/eec

Today in part 6 of our series Cllr Harrington responds to questions about the 'Hereford Bypass' part 1/3.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Cllr Harrington for agreeing to be the first of many councillors who will be engaging with you all this year as part of our 'exclusive' Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions'

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #herefordshire #hfdvcs

The council's public realm contract for providing services includes highways, public rights of way, parks and open spaces, street cleaning and street lighting.

Balfour Beatty were awarded the contract in 2013 and the procurement for the contract set out to achieve the following objectives:

🔸Ensuring our roads, public open spaces and streets are accessible, safe, clean and well-maintained

🔸Maintaining the delivery of essential services

🔸Achieving value for money, facilitated by process improvement and transparency through open book accounting

🔸Achieving service delivery which is efficient and responsive to local needs and priorities and

🔸Contributing to the regeneration of the economy and social capital in Herefordshire

At Hereford Voice our slogan has always been 'Having Your Say' and through our network we are going to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to some of our Councillors.

Cabinet Member - Infrastructure and Transport Councillor John Harrington agreed to be put under the spotlight and to answer as many questions put to him in our first exclusive 'Councillor Sessions' series here 👉 https://hfd.news/eec

Today in part 5 of our series Cllr Harrington responds to questions about the 🔸BBLP - 'Balfour Beatty Living Places' Contract🔸

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Cllr Harrington for agreeing to be the first of many councillors who will be engaging with you all this year as part of our 'exclusive' Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions'

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #herefordshire #hfdvcs

Sites set up across the county to give workers better access to COVID-19 rapid testing

Essential workers across Herefordshire, who cannot work from home, are being urged to join an initiative to help drive down the number of COVID-19 cases by doing twice-weekly rapid tests (known as Lateral Flow Tests).

Four council test centres for people without COVID-19 symptoms are now open for bookings in Herefordshire. They are in Hereford, Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury and Leominster, and critical businesses and essential workers who need to attend a workplace, are invited to use the testing facilities.

In addition, tests for people without symptoms will also start to become available at selected community pharmacies across Herefordshire.

The scheme is part of the Government’s Community Asymptomatic Testing Programme and is being run locally by Herefordshire Council.

Around one in three people who are infected with COVID-19 have no symptoms so could be spreading the disease without knowing it. Broadening testing to identify those showing no symptoms will mean finding positive cases more quickly, and help break the chain of transmission.

With its targeted approach, this programme aims to improve the detection of positive cases so people can isolate and prevent spreading the disease in the workplace and reduce the prevalence of the virus in some of the highest risk areas. It is being used in addition to the established testing venues, which are for anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 in Herefordshire.

Eligible workers can book an appointment at a community asymptomatic test site by following the link on the Council’s website. The rapid tests produce a result in up to 2 hours and people are notified by text message or email. Anyone who does not receive their result within 12 hours, should take another rapid test.

The rapid testing sites in Herefordshire are:

Hereford City - ThePoint4, Venns Ln, Hereford, HR1 1DT

Monday: 8am – 2pm

Tuesday: 12:30pm – 6:30pm

Thursday: 8am – 2pm

Friday: 12:30pm – 6:30pm

Saturday: 9am – 1pm

Ross-on-Wye - Ryefields Centre, Grammar School Close, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7QD

Monday: 8am – 2pm

Thursday: 12:30pm – 6:30pm

Ledbury – The Master’s House, Bye St, Ledbury HR8 1EA

Tuesday: 7:30am – 12noon

Friday:  2pm – 6:30pm

Leominster - Old Priory, The Priory, Leominster, HR6 8DA

Monday 12:30pm – 6:30pm

Wednesday 8am – 2pm

The first community pharmacy currently offering rapid tests is:

Westfields Walk Pharmacy, Leominster, HR6 8HD

Book a community pharmacy test here.

Herefordshire Consultant in Public Health Sarah Smith said:

Quote

 

It is important we use every means available to help us detect the virus in our communities and make sure people isolate to prevent it spreading. Under the current lockdown arrangements, there are still people who need to attend a workplace and they are the focus of our current community testing programme.

“We know a significant number of those who contract COVID-19 do not display symptoms and are unknowingly passing it to others. These tests are vital to our efforts to suppress the transmission and I urge every essential worker in Herefordshire, who cannot work from home, to use these new testing facilities.”

 

Health Minister Lord Bethell said:

Quote

 

We’ve already come so far since first setting up a national testing programme at an unprecedented pace to help counter COVID-19, but we continue to strive to go further, faster.

“Around one in three people have the virus without symptoms so could be spreading the disease without knowing it. Broadening testing to identify those showing no symptoms will mean finding positive cases more quickly and break chains of transmission.

“I’m delighted Herefordshire Council is working with us to roll out community testing across the county and I look forward to seeing the results.”

 

Baroness Dido Harding, Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said:

Quote

 

NHS Test and Trace continues to play a leading role in the fight against COVID-19.

“Increased community testing is a vital additional tool at our disposal to help identify those who are infected and infectious, but unaware that they might be spreading the disease.

“The work of Herefordshire Council will be essential in driving down transmission rates. I urge all those living in areas where community testing is offered to come forward and get tested.”

 

To protect yourself and others, you must remember: Hands. Face. Space.

Hands – wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water often, and as soon as you get home - use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.

Face – wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.

Space – stay at least 2 metres away from anyone you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble.

In a time of doom and gloom on the High Street some positive movement on the two empty restaurants on the Old Market site.
Both Prezzo and Chimichenga units are under offer.

https://www.realla.co.uk/details/13157948

Herefordshire Council’s project provides new state of the art facilities for pupils and staff at Marlbrook Primary School

New state of the art facilities opened for pupils and staff at Marlbrook Primary School at Green Croft this week following a £6 million investment project by Herefordshire Council.

The council funded sustainable scheme has provided six new classrooms, a new hall and a special hygiene and physio room.  The school has also benefited from new netball courts and improvements to the car parking area.

Local company, Morgan Sindall Construction, were contracted by the council to carry out the work which they completed in time ready for when pupils return to school after February half term.

The school – rated Outstanding by Ofsted, has experienced a significant rise in pupil numbers in recent years and the council’s investment has enabled the size of the school to be significantly increased. 

Councillor Felicity Norman, Herefordshire Council Cabinet Member for Children and Families, and Councillor Gemma Davies, Cabinet Member for Commissioning, Procurement and Assets, said they were delighted that the scheme had been completed on time and within budget by a local construction company, using the council’s new project management system.

Quote

“Marlbrook Primary School is a real success story during what has been a really difficult time for schools due to the pandemic.

“This significant investment by the council means that pupils and staff can enjoy using the new high quality spacious facilities.  Pupils will now benefit from a state-of-the-art learning environment and the very latest facilities to help make sure they get the best possible outcome from their education.”

Head teacher Tracey Kneale said the opening of the new facilities to pupils and staff was a much-needed boost to Herefordshire primary school education in the midst of the continuing coronavirus situation.

Quote

"The whole school community is delighted with the new facilities.  It’s been a difficult time for our pupils, their families and our staff - this project has given us something to look forward to that will be a really important asset to the school and our community for years to come. We’re also extremely grateful to everyone in the local community, our neighbours have been very patient and tolerant of the increased traffic and difficult parking situation."

Robert Williams, Area Director at Morgan Sindall Construction, added:

Quote

“We are delighted to hand over this important education asset for the Herefordshire community.  We have worked collaboratively with the council and all of the project’s stakeholders to deliver the work safely, efficiently and in line with current government COVID-19 guidance.”

Hereford City Council approved a grant of £1,510.38 for Hereford Canoe Club, which will go towards purchasing another two canoes for use of the club’s members.

Hereford Youth Canoe Club is a voluntary club providing boat-loads of positive paddle-sport opportunities for the young people of Herefordshire.

Vic Gamage, representing the Canoe Club, explained to City Councillors that the application covered the costs of two canoes large enough for their teenage members; the existing canoes simply cannot support the members and larger ones are needed.

The Canoe Club has unfortunately lost much of their income over the last year due to the Covid-19 restrictions which have been in place, and so assistance was needed to cater to their members. Like many of our Youth Clubs, the Canoe Club has been fighting against the tide of uncertainty which the Coronavirus Pandemic has brought about.

Mayor Kath Hey expressed her appreciation for the work the Youth Canoe Club does, and the importance of encouraging young people to undertake outdoor exercise and activity. City Councillors unanimously agreed to grant £1,510.38 for the purchase of two large canoes as stated in the application.

For more information on Hereford Youth Canoe Club, visit their Facebook page.

#herefordvoice #herefordcity #herefordnews #hereford

This gentleman of the sport once owned and had a financial share in The Temple bar in Ewyas Harold Herefordshire and can be seen in the pub in this photograph taken in May 1984.

Professional snooker player Doug Mountjoy playing at the Temple Bar in Ewyas Harold. 03-05-1984.

His last season on the tour was 1996/1997 and he then went on to coach in the Middle East for two years before coaching back in Wales.

Doug Mountjoy was from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Glamorgan, Wales. He was on the professional snooker circuit during the sport's golden era of the late 1970s and 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 consecutive years.

He won both the 1978 UK Championship and the 1979 Irish Masters, and reached the final of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he lost to Steve Davis. He also finished in second place at the 1985 Masters.

Doug Mountjoy | Photo Credit: PA Sport

Doug Mountjoy passed away on Sunday 14th February which was Valentine's Day - RIP

Having Your Say | Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions' Q&A Continued - Part 3 Hereford Transport Hub

At Hereford Voice our slogan has always been 'Having Your Say' and through our network we are going to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to some of our Councillors.

Cabinet Member - Infrastructure and Transport Councillor John Harrington agreed to be put under the spotlight and to answer as many questions put to him in our first exclusive 'Councillor Sessions' series here https://hfd.news/eec

Tonight in part 3 of our series Cllr Harrington responds to questions about the Hereford Transport Hub

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Cllr Harrington for agreeing to be the first of many councillors who will be engaging with you all this year as part of our 'exclusive' Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions'

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #herefordshire #hfdvcs

13 year old Frank has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Frank has osteosarcoma a rare bone cancer and is having intense treatment in Birmingham and Hereford Hospitals.

Let's help Frank achieve his bucket list and give him and his family all the love and support that we can.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/joanne-smith-659?utm_term=pEYkxxNAM

Frank has already received some wonderful messages of support from celebrities and football starts including - Sir Kenny Dalglish, Matt Lucas, Phil Neville, Alan Shearer, Jamie Carragher to name just a few and the list is growing rapidly.

More details and updates can be found on the Team Frank Facebook page.

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #hereford

Having Your Say | Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions' Q&A Continued - Part 4 - Emergency Active Travel Measures across the county inc the closure of the Old Bridge in Hereford

At Hereford Voice our slogan has always been 'Having Your Say' and through our network we are going to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to some of our Councillors.

Cabinet Member - Infrastructure and Transport Councillor John Harrington agreed to be put under the spotlight and to answer as many questions put to him in our first exclusive 'Councillor Sessions' series here https://hfd.news/eec

Tonight in part 4 of our series Cllr Harrington responds to questions about the Emergency Active Travel Measures across the county inc the closure of the Old Bridge in Hereford

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Cllr Harrington for agreeing to be the first of many councillors who will be engaging with you all this year as part of our 'exclusive' Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions'

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #herefordshire #hfdvcs

Staff at Wye Valley NHS Trust will stand shoulder to shoulder on Friday this week in honour of a colleague who sadly died recently.

Dave Morgan, logistics team leader in the theatres team at Hereford County Hospital, died on Thursday, January 28, having tested positive for COVID-19.

Dave Morgan - a much loved colleague at Wye Valley NHS Trust who will be missed by everyone

His funeral is to take place this Friday, February 19, at Hereford Crematorium.

The hearse bearing David’s coffin will drive along Stonebow Road and through the County Hospital grounds where staff will have the opportunity to line the pavements in honour of their popular colleague.

Dave, 59, was born in Hereford and went to the local Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School and Hereford Sixth Form College before joining the RAF where he worked as an Electronics Technician working on flight simulators.

He had worked in Theatres at Hereford County Hospital since 2014 and was described as much loved and everyone’s “go to guy” at the heart of the Theatres’ team by colleagues.

His knowledge of theatres, its equipment, cost and location was encyclopaedic and he was always ready with a kind word, a helpful nod or a funny story.Jane Ives, the Trust’s managing director, said:

Quote

“Dave was a great example of what we stand for in this Trust. He played a big part in co-ordinating theatre supplies across the surgical division and will be remembered for his diligence and loyalty.

“Colleagues have vowed that Dave’s vision for more efficient logistics will be completed as his legacy in the Theatre department.

“The whole WVT family is deeply saddened by losing Dave, and our thoughts are especially with his wife, Penny, and his family.

“Our condolences go out to them at this time - we know that through the passion and professionalism he brought to a key role in the Theatres team, many patients – most of whom never met Dave - will have had successful operations and gone on to make full recoveries.”

Dave’s wife, Penny, said:

Quote

“The whole family is truly devastated at the sudden loss of David. He was my amazing husband and incredible father and grandfather.

“The sadness we feel is more than words can express.

“We would like to thank Hereford County Hospital for the compassionate and outstanding care of David and the extraordinary support from family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.

“All donations will be forwarded to Aylestone Park, a favourite place for all the family and pet dog, Emma.”

The funeral procession will pass along Stonebow Road to the mini roundabout and then turn right past the path labs and out of the hospital site via the rear access road onto Union Walk at 10am this Friday, February 19.

Jane added:

Quote

“Dave’s passing has left a huge void in the Theatres’ team and he will be very much missed by us all”.

We have received a number of reports in the past few days advising that us that people were having problems trying to use Beryl Bikes in Hereford.

We have been informed that both Wednesday and early yesterday morning there was a connectivity issue with Beryl Bikes in the city however, we have been assured by the team at Beryl that everything is now back to normal.

In an email to us this morning Jack from Beryl Bikes wrote:

Quote

"On Tuesday 17th February we encountered a connectivity issue with some of our bikes in the Hereford scheme. This has now been resolved and all bikes are online with minimal disruption to service."

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #hereford

 Part 2 - B4224 - Fiddler's Green - Fownhope 

At Hereford Voice our slogan has always been 'Having Your Say' and through our network we are going to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to some of our Councillors.

Cabinet Member - Infrastructure and Transport Councillor John Harrington agreed to be put under the spotlight and to answer as many questions put to him in our first exclusive 'Councillor Sessions' series here https://hfd.news/eec

Cllr Harrington will do this in a series of short videos over the coming week, here is the second video in the series;

Part 2 🔷 B4224 road from Fiddler's Green to Fownhope 🔷

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Cllr Harrington for agreeing to be the first of many councillors who will be engaging with you all this year as part of our Hereford Voice 'Councillor Sessions'

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #herefordshire #hfdvcs

Undeterred by the furore at Kingsland, seems someone has tried building a bund to prevent flooding of Westfields FC pitch. Is this a sensible move, bearing in mind the delicate eco-structure of the Yazor Brook and the many hundreds of thousands of £s spent on flood-amelioration measures to enable development of the ESG?