Meeting: Herefordshire Council

Meeting date: Friday 22 January 2021

Title of report: Appointment of Chief Executive

Report by: Chair of the Employment Panel

Purpose
To approve the appointment of a chief executive and head of paid service.

Recommendation(s)
That:
Recommendation(s) That: (a) Paul Walker is appointed as the council’s chief executive and head of paid service.

(b) The solicitor to the council is designated to be acting head of paid service from 12 February when the current chief executive leaves the council’s employment and until the newly appointed chief executive starts in post.

(c) To ensure appropriate and necessary separation of statutory roles, the interim head of legal services is designated to be acting monitoring officer for any period of time when the solicitor to the council is designated as acting head of paid service.

Renumeration

15. The gross salary for this post is currently £155,022 and the salary costs will be met from within the existing directorate revenue budget.

16. The financial estimates below are based on the assumption that a new appointee will need to give notice to their current employer and will not be available to start with Herefordshire until April 2021.

Background stories

Copeland axe £110,000-a-year chief exec

New council senior manager very positive about Harrow

Best of luck to him in the present climate. Wonder if he likes bypasses?

 

West Mercia Police Statement:

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A body has been recovered from the River Teme and is believed to be Daniel Berry from Ludlow.

The 42-year-old went missing on Sunday 20 December and officers have been carrying out searches of the area. Sadly at around 11am on Sunday 10 January a body was found during a search of the river however formal identification has not yet taken place.

Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

The Government is considering tough new measures over fears that people are not complying with the current rules.

Members of the Sage scientific advisory panel are said to have called for a change to social distancing rules in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19.

West Mercia Police are appealing for information and releasing a CCTV image following a theft inside a Hereford store.

On Friday 11 December at around 10.30am, a woman had been in the store on Whitecross Road when it is understood that she left her wallet on the counter before leaving.

At around the same time it is believed another woman put a newspaper on top of the wallet and then took both the paper and wallet. She then left the shop.

We are appealing to anyone who may recognise the woman pictured in the CCTV image to get in touch with us as she may be able to help with our enquiries.

Anyone with information is asked to report it online here or call West Mercia Police on 101 quoting crime reference 22/105107/20.

Alternatively, information can be given to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111

Harry Glyn Prosser pleaded guilty to allowing livestock to suffer and for failing to dispose of large amounts of deadstock

A farmer from Dulas near Ewyas Harold has been banned from keeping livestock for ten years, in a case taken to Hereford Magistrates’ Court by Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards Service.

Harry Glyn Prosser (69)  of Great Bilboa Farm Dulas pleaded guilty to six charges in total and was disqualified from keeping all animals (except his dog) for ten years after allowing livestock to suffer, failing to provide a suitable environment and for failing to correctly store and dispose of a large number of animal carcasses.

Mr Prosser was sentenced in September at Hereford Magistrates’ Court and received a 10 year disqualification order from keeping animals, a fine of £1800 with a victim surcharge of £180 and ordered to pay costs of £3200.

David Hough, Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards Service Manager, said: 

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This is a very serious case where the farmer has not provided a suitable environment for the livestock on the farm and allowed these animals to suffer without water and surrounded by deadstock.

Officers first attended Great Bilboa farm in 2019 and were shocked to find a large amount of dead cattle and sheep on the farm with many just being left where they had fallen. The live sheep and cattle had access to all of the farm including the dead stock and other numerous hazards such as chemicals, broken machinery and a lack of fresh drinking water. One calf was left in a small enclosure on its own with no water. The only other animals the calf could see were a pile of dead sheep.

It took several visits by Animal welfare officers to get Mr Prosser to remove the deadstock. At no time did Mr Prosser try to remove any hazards to the livestock on the farm or prevent the animals accessing the hazards. On further visits over the winter and early 2020 more livestock died and had not been disposed of.

David Hough added: 

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Herefordshire Council will continue to work with all livestock keepers to ensure that best practice is maintained on farms and small holdings, but we will not tolerate animal suffering and action will be taken against anyone who disregards the welfare of farmed animals.

Crews from

Leominster Fire Station along with Kingsland fire station attended a large wood chipping machine on fire this afternoon.

When crews arrived, they were faced with a well developed fire in the motor area of the wood chipper.

Both crews worked quickly to extinguish the fire using 2 fire fighters in breathing aparatus, and also a covering jet to protect the adjacent building which was holding a large quantity of dried wood chip.

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #herefordshire

A Herefordshire village are to receive funding from the PCC to help them tackle the issue of speeding.

Lyonshall Parish Council highlighted their concerns about speeding through their village in a recent online engagement event hosted by Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion and, after speaking with him directly, the council applied to his dedicated road safety fund.

Consequently, the council will receive £2,675 from the fund for a new speed indicator device that will operate in the village of Lyonshall, with the area identified by the local council as a speeding hotspot.

The new device will provide a visible speed deterrent to motorists, as well as providing greater reassurance and an increased feeling of safety to residents.Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said:

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“Through engaging with the public, road safety is a concern I hear all too often from people across West Mercia. As Commissioner, I promised to help tackle the issue of speeding and work with communities to make our roads safer.

“Providing a grant for the residents of Lyonshall is a prime example of this commitment in action, and I am pleased the Parish Council applied for funding I set aside each year solely to support local communities in tackling road safety issues. I hope the device reminds motorists to slow down, respect the speed limit and prevent incidents on our roads.”

Local councillor Rod Bevan said:

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“Lyonshall parish is delighted to have a grant application accepted by Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion. It is essential that we work together to tackle speeding behaviour and safeguard our communities.

“We look forward to further initiatives and opportunities to work with the Crime Commissioner, police service and other authorities to achieve this, and we actively encourage other parishes to follow suit. Speeding is a problem that affects us all and we are all empowered to make a difference, starting with our own driving behaviour.”

#herefordnews

Herefordshire Council teams have gritted all Priority routes overnight with temperatures as low as -7 in Herefordshire.

Allow extra travel time.

Full Details here

#herefordvoice #herefordnews #hereford

VETERAN fundraiser Alan Blake has been given some civic support in his marathon project to raise £100,000 for local charities.

Alan, who is 89, is aiming to complete a 15-mile challenge to raise funds for the parish church of Burghill, Rotary and Parkinson’s – but all without leaving his garden.

He will navigate a circular walk around his steep garden steps 458 times, which will be the equivalent of walking from Hereford to Lyde then Moreton on Lugg, Burghill, Tillington, Stretton Sugwas and back to his family home in Hampton Park.

Alan began his challenge on October 1 and, on Saturday, he gained the backing of Hereford’s first citizen when the Mayor,

Cllr Kath Hey along with Junior Mayor, Theo Ashton joined him on a circuit.

Mayor Kath Hey commented that in representing Hereford City Council 

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"we take pride in our work with our communities and local people".

She expressed how delighted both she and the Junior Mayor were to accompany Alan on one of his garden circuit walks in support of his fundraising endeavours and that Alan’s determination and efforts were truly impressive and inspirational.

DONATE HERE

Gloucestershire Constabulary appeal for the public's help to identify woman who fell from bridge on the M5.

Officers were called after a woman fell from a bridge on to the M5 southbound between Junctions 11A and 12 this evening (Wednesday 6 January) around 4.55pm.

The woman was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Her death is believed to be non-suspicious.

Currently officers are unable to identify this person and are asking any members of the public to come forward if they know anyone who has gone missing matching the description.

The woman is white, believed to be approximately 60 to 70-years-old, shoulder length mousey-brown hair, a skin tag on her right cheek and above her right eye and has no tattoos or jewellery.

She was wearing a dress, a stone coloured cardigan, pink slip on shoes and an orange check coat.

Anyone who believes they can identify this woman is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident 336 of 6 January.

First call last night in new lockdown measures for crews at Peterchurch Fire Station. They were called out to property whereby a two year old had managed to get a metal biscuit tin well and truly lodged on their head. Tin snips and pliers were used to cut it free and child was checked over by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

#herefordnews

The public are being asked to follow the new rules, which replace the current tiers system, from this evening and with people instructed to "stay at home" as they did during March's first lockdown.

All schools will close with immediate effect.

It comes as the UK recorded 58,784 new cases of the virus – the country’s highest daily increase to date, and the seventh day in a row it has registered more than 50,000 new infections.

The Formula One World Champion had been honoured with a knighthood and many awards have gone to people who have been recognised for their part in helping the nation cope with the coronavirus crisis this year.

Public figures including DJ Craig David and actress Sheila Hancock have also been honoured.

📸 Motor Sport Magazine

Local people recognised include Hugh Maclean VERNON for services to the community in Eardisland, Herefordshire.

Catherine Jean LINDESAY for services to the community in Clifford, Herefordshire.

David Fraser OWEN for services to Scouting.

George Arthur Somers HERVEY-BATHURST, Founder, Ben Bathurst Memorial Trust for voluntary service to Armed Forces Personnel and to their Families.

Ian Fryer PEAKE, Principal and Chief Executive, Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire College for services to Education.

Professor Dawn June BROOKER, Professor, Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester for services to People Affected by Dementia.

Freda May DAVIES for services to the community in Worcester.

Patricia Ann McCULLOCH for services to the community in Gloucester.

Tracey Helena WREN, Police Staff, Gloucestershire Constabulary for services to the community in Gloucestershire.

Felicity Ann WAGGETT for services to Young People and to the community in Gloucestershire.

The full London Gazette list is available to download below;

NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST.pdf

A Wallaby was spotted hoping around during the snowfall last night in Breinton Hereford.

Our friend and local resident Crispin Abel got in touch and said he could not believe his eyes and wrote on his Facebook page; 

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2021 has already surprised me. I drove my son to work this evening. Things to expect. Snow yes, ice yes, slush yes, Wallaby nope.

As I drove along Breinton Road, I saw a figure in a gateway. 30 metres later, I stopped the car. My brain registered a small kangaroo shape. I asked, "Did you see a kangaroo back there?" Following a brief discussion, we decided it was a wallaby. I reversed back and saw the wallaby hopping down the road. I then phoned West Mercia Police, because.....well. The call went as expected....."I would like to report that there is a wallaby loose on Breinton Road." (Silence......) ,"Pardon!". "Yes, there is a small, Australian, marsupial hopping down Breinton Road, Hereford.

So, if this is how 2021 is going to start, who knows what surreal things are going to happen next!

Hereford is a fabulous City and always full of surprises! And there is nothing better than a happy and positive story to start the day..

The driver of the Volkswagen that was involved in a collision with a Monmouthshire Council gritting lorry over the weekend has written to us saying he cannot believe he is still alive!

Billy Gurney was travelling near Grosmont when the accident happened.

He wrote

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"I was the driver of the Volkswagen I can't believe I'm alive"

Billy later explained to us today what had happened..

In an exclusive interview with Hereford Voice today the driver of the Volkswagen which was involved in a collision with a Monmouthshire Council gritter lorry over the weekend said

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"he was lucky to be alive"

William (Billy) Gurney explained to us today what had happened..

He was travelling home and got stuck going up the hill, his car started sliding all over the place so he stopped with his hazards on, he looked up and saw a large HGV vehicle coming toward him with amber flashing lights, clearly the driver of the HGV hadn't seen him initially and Billy said that he feared for his life, he said

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I was beeping my horn and shouting and screaming.

Once he had got the lorry drivers attention it was too late, the driver tried breaking but just slid towards him. The gritter lorry driver tried to put the lorry into the hedge in an attempt to avoid a collision but it was too late and the lorry overturned and landed on my bonnet he said.

Billy thought this was it and he was about to be seriously injured or even lose his life, he blacked out for a few seconds and was relieved to have survived the ordeal and walk away unharmed.

Thankfully there was no casualties and both drivers survived.

Our original article can be found here https://hfd.news/k1b

An RTC involving a gritting lorry and another vehicle as ice and snow falls across the county. 

photographs courtesy of Peterchurch Fire Station

Crews from Peterchurch Fire Station along with colleagues from Ewyas Harold Fire Station and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service assisted at the scene.

Thankfully there were no casualties, vehicles were made safe and diesel spill dealt with.

Hereford 1642 is a free project created by Jack Hodges about the city of Hereford England.

The city has been rebuilt using Unreal Engine 4 so that you can now explore on foot or horse back this magnificent city.

The Model has been made to be as accurate as possible using old maps from that period and other models and paintings so that the city you explore is as close as can be to the period.

Historically Accurate

Built using maps ,models, painting and etchings of the town during the 17th century. Come and see the Cathedral of Hereford with its spire and west tower.

Fun to Explore

Pick up objects and transport them in your horse and cart to other locations. Gallop with your horse and run around the city and country side.

Visit the Castle and River Wye

Visit the now demolished castle of Hereford as it once was. With bailey and mote the castle stands on the river Wye bank and over looks the city.

OK I may be a bit biased!

Not delivered 

Transport Hub at the Station - how difficult is it?

Not fixed the road to Fownhope

Not fixed the path by the Old Bridge

Still paying for scaffolding at Fryers Court - how many years now

Thousands paid out to consultants 

Still no realistic prospect of the cycle lane in St Owens Street

Wasted money on cycle lanes in Commercial Road

Roads very poor - e.g. Folly Lane and and Eign Road

Effectively ripped up the Core Strategy

Still not building more houses by the Link Road

Blueschool Street/Newmarket Street still open to all vehicles - link road was meant to divert north=south traffic from them

Delivered

Please help with this!!

Am happy to be corrected on the above