Back on my bike and cycling across the city. Newton Farm to Bodenham Road daily and surprised the roads are as bad as they are for cyclists. My list includes tree roots beginning to lift the surface of Great Western Way, Canonmoor Street (pitted road surface and nice pothole just before Edgar Street), Blackfriars Street from the traffic lights to Widemarsh Street (forcing you to cycle in the middle of the road to find a smooth surface), Canal Road (patchwork of repairs), Southbank Road leading into Bodenham Road (pitted and rough surface - a real boneshaker downhill on the return). I suppose no problem if you are on a BMX and running wide tyres.

How's your ride - nice and smooth?

From Westfields to Portfields and everything in between, Hereford’s residents and visitors will be able to get a lungful of fresh air on Beryl Bikes in time for summer. 

The British urban cycling brand, has announced the launch date of its innovative hybrid bike share scheme that is already helping create greener cities in London, Bournemouth and Poole.

An initial rollout of 70 bicycles will begin on Monday 29th of July, before 150 Beryl emerald bikes will be available for business and pleasure across the city. To hire  a Beryl Bike, users must use the Beryl app, available for download on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play store for Android users. The bikes can be picked up and dropped off in marked ‘Beryl Bays’ that have been selected and approved in conjunction with Herefordshire Council, to ensure the scheme is in line with the needs of the community. With Beryl Bays positioned at key attractions and transport hubs like Hereford Railway Station, Old Market and Hereford Cathedral, there will always be a bike nearby.

Riders will have a payment choice of Pay-As-You-Ride (£1 unlock fee + 5p per minute), Minute Bundles (no unlock fee and bundles starting at 100 minutes for £5) or Day Passes (24 hours of unlimited riding for £12). Once their ride is complete, users simply close the lock on the bike to complete their ride and make it available for the next person to use.

The three-speed gear bike has a step-through design suitable for riders from 4’11” to 6’5”. They are also fitted with the company’s patented Laserlight Technology, combining a bright, dynamo-powered white light with a green laser projection, visible at night. This allows riders to be seen in blind spots and forewarn pedestrians that they’re on the road when riding in the dark.

Through the custom-built reporting dashboard, Beryl will be able to provide Herefordshire Council with valuable insights from the data generated by the bikes. This will help local authorities plan and grow their cycling infrastructure, based on accurate journey data.

Cllr John Harrington, Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure, said:

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“The new Beryl Bikes scheme will be a fantastic addition to the many active travel options offered through our Choose How you Move project. They will make short journeys in and across the city much easier, reduce congestion and vehicle emissions, and help to get more people out and about using healthy, active, sustainable transport.

“We’re delighted to welcome the first 75 Beryl Bikes to Hereford and look forward to a further 75 arriving soon. The bikes will make travelling around Hereford both easier and healthier for local people and visitors, and the local environment will benefit from reduced pollution and better air quality.”

Phil Ellis, Beryl CEO, said:

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“We’re excited to bring bike share to Hereford for the first time and make it easy and fun to get around the city by bike. Hereford is the perfect place for cycling and we’re pleased to be working with a dedicated and committed team at the Council to bring this project to life.”

Brexit Party selects general election candidate for Hereford

From The Hereford Times today:

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THE Brexit Party has chosen Matt Slocombe as their prospective parliamentary candidate for the Hereford and South Herefordshire constituency for the next general election.

Matt, who runs the Crown Inn at Woolhope, said he had to get involved in politics after the UK Government failed to deliver on the EU referendum result to leave the European Union earlier this year.

He is hoping to overturn incumbent Conservative Party MP Jesse Norman’s 15,013 majority.

Matt says there is a real disconnect between the electorate and the country’s MPs. He also believes the civil service needs an overhaul.

“I had to get involved; when our broken Parliament, dithering Government and ineffective opposition failed to deliver on the largest single vote in our history,” he said.

“I am a publican, not a politician, but I could not let the biggest betrayal by our elected representatives go unchecked.

“Democracy must be enacted. The disconnect between the electorate and the elected is palpable, so many people in this county want things to change.

“Our civil service needs immediate overhaul. When high ranking officials and MP’s collude with others to scupper the negotiations of your country then something is very, very wrong.

“We have businesses that lead the way in rural innovation and as a agricultural County we will have a huge opportunity operating free from the shackles of the EU.

“I am delighted to have been asked by the Brexit Party to stand as the PPC for Hereford and Herefordshire South.

“I never stop promoting Herefordshire, its people and its produce.

“I have been proud to serve Herefordians for two decades, now let me do it from Westminster.”

During the EU referendum in 2016, 59.2% of Herefordshire voters backed Leave while 40.8% voted Remain.

With the current mess fermenting daily the need to clear out the parliamentary remainers has never been so urgent. As The Slog says in his latest post:

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Nobody but nobody is more at risk than Britain in this situation. But even if Boris “wins”, bad Parliamentary precedents are being set, we wll have a Speaker who should be locked up, and the KKK Wing of the United Ideologues against Liberty will continue their evil work of trying to block or destabilise everything Britain does or tries. We’ll continue in turn to have no Constitution, and a police force we can no longer trust to do anything except protect the sclerotic organs of the State.

Doesn't look bright does it?

Appeal for witnesses to armed robbery - Hereford

We are appealing for witnesses following an armed robbery in Hereford.

The incident happened at around 10pm on Thursday, 29 August at the Tesco Express store on Holme Lacy Road.

Two males wearing balaclavas are believed to have entered the store and threatened staff with a knife before making off with a quantity of cash and alcohol.

Investigating officers have arrested a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy in connection with this incident and have seized a knife. The two boys remain in police custody at this time while they assist officers with their enquiries.

Officers have also retrieved what is believed to be the stolen cash and alcohol.

Detective Sergeant Frank Real from West Mercia Police said:

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"Thankfully no one was injured as a result of this incident but it was no doubt a frightening ordeal for the staff in this shop who were left shaken following the incident.

"Enquiries are currently ongoing but I would urge anyone who may have witnessed the incident or was in the area at the time and saw something suspicious to please get in touch."

Anyone with any information is asked to call West Mercia Police on 101 quoting incident number 787s of 29 August 2019.

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their website.

This is absolutely unbelievable and beyond words!! 

Beryl Bikes set on fire near to the skatepark at Newton Farm Hereford.

We received this email just:

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Hi, I recently saw your post on the increasing number of Beryl's Bikes being vandalised. Well I've seen it about personally - the first week of them coming out I saw one dumped into a tree by the skate park in Newton Farm but tonight I saw a far worse example... In the same spot; by the skate park two bikes were set on fire. This happened at about 10pm - I reported it to the police and they came out but the kids who vandalised the bikes were long gone. I have reported it to Beryl. I hope they are able to track the kids down via the app data because it is disgusting. I took pictures of the bikes alight before the police came if interested.

Urgent improvement roof works at Plough Lane Head office

Decision to award the contract to carry out maintenance and improvement works to plough lane roof

To award the contract to carry out the urgent improvement roof works at Plough Lane Head office through the expenditure of the 2018/19 capital maintenance budget.

The reasons to award the contract to carry out the improvement roof works at Plough Lane offices through the BBLP public realm contract are:-

(a) The estimate of 249K for the works was provided by Integral (Hereford) Ltd, the council's current provider within an agreed delivery timeframe, however the current maintenance contract with them is due to finish by 1st September. BBLP have been awarded the maintenance and cleaning contract from the 1st September and in order to address the urgency to carry out the work before winter the most expedient course of action is to appoint BBLP to carry out he works through the existing public realm contract.

(b) there is rain water ingress through the roof   that is causing damage to the finishes within the building

(c) water ingress damage is causing disruption to services every time it rains

(d) the water ingress is causing deterioration to the building fabric which will lead to greater cost and losses in the medium to long term if the issue is not resolved and will also ultimately render the building no longer fit for its intended purpose

Given the nature of the ingress problem equality issues in respect of the working environment have been taken into account.

The contract with Integral is due to finish by 1st September and therefore they cannot deliver the works hence BBLP is being asked to take on the works through the public realm contract. Timescale for completion is to be agreed and may run into periods of inclement weather.

Details of any alternative options considered and rejected:    
Alternative option —do nothing.
This has been discounted as there is water damage to the finishes within the building and disruption to services every time it rains as well as deterioration to the building fabric leading to greater cost and losses.

Instigate patch repair.
This will not provide a comprehensive resolution to the problem and may lead to greater deterioration of the roof in the longer term.

The cost implication of not completing the work is potentially further damage to the buildings fabric and interior therefore adding to cost overheads. Service delivery will also be affected.

Haven't they already spent a large sum of money on this office?

We have noticed all this new graffiti locally, some will claim it is street art but the bottom line here is that this is plain criminal damage to someones property and this criminal damage costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds for the local council to clean it up.

This has popped up at the Oval and along the Belmont Road over the past week.

Aedis Building Inspectors unreachable

Just been caught up in this fiasco after having paid £660 to have an approved inspector check my building regulations affecting a new extension being built for my disabled partner. Aedis the company the inspectors were working through has gone into voluntary liquidation as a result of being unable to secure ongoing insurance.

Aedis Regulatory Services (ARS) was carrying out building control on around 12,000 projects, which is approximately 5% of the construction industry, according to its boss. Housing industry figures warned the wider crisis has "potential consequences for housing supply".

Joe Ayre, managing director of ARS, told Inside Housing: “Without insurance we can’t operate. For six weeks [since it expired], we haven’t taken any business in, we haven’t taken any money in. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”

I now have to pay Herefordshire County Council £540.00 to check and verify the work. Considering that there are many people affected who acted in good faith it is surprising that no authority has investigated this maladministration.

Herefordshire council are in talks with highways agency regarding the turning off of traffic lights at asda island and Newmarket st as part of a trial.

Discussions with highways agency could be as early as next month.

https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/17851764.council-consider-turning-off-traffic-lights-ease-congestion/

I will be attending a meeting in the Town Hall Council chambers this evening with our MP Jesse Norman, Paul Hillman from the HA ( Paul Hillman designed both the Belmont/Asda scheme and Edgar St ) his boss Andy Butterfield as well as national campaigner/expert Martin Cassini, John Harrington, Amanda Martin and John Llewellyn-Perkins. We all want them to trial a "lights out" hopefully in Hereford sometime in the New Year (but I suspect it is not as simple as that) as well as discussing the possibility of making the ring road traffic lights part time (7pm-7am) I will update you all later. Wish us good luck.

This problem has been ongoing for 20 years. Still waiting for Balfour Beatty to come and cut the grass and the trees are becoming a nightmare for people living underneath them. No news from our local councillor following an email sent. Herefordshire Housing and Muir Housing also involved and responding with site visits to assess situation. Basically Hereford Council and BBLP lack of interest creates blight on our estates and they don't care.

Regarding this topic it's a shame that the old postings can't be replied to. Also I note that the posts on new topics are not numbered. This was useful in the past.

Hereford Bypass Paused!

A cabinet member decision has been taken today to pause and review the Hereford bypass and Southern link road schemes.

Cllr John Harrington, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Transport, said:

Quote

 

“Following a change of administration and with time to reflect, it has now been decided to pause all work on the Hereford bypass and Southern link road to allow further time to review these schemes in more detail and look at other options. There are many complex issues that need to be considered and it is very important to examine these thoroughly.

“The views of residents, commuters and local businesses are very important to us. It is vital that travel, transport and infrastructure developments in Hereford support the economy, help to improve health and wellbeing and make Herefordshire a better place to live, work and visit. We also need to ensure we effectively respond to the climate emergency declared by Herefordshire Council and the Government.

“As part of this review it is important to consider alternative options. For example this will include infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians (including safe routes to school), an eastern river crossing and trialling the removal of some traffic signals. It could also include options for an electric bus service, improving school bus services and an ultra-light rail system.

“All options need to be considered as we look to the long term and towards providing a high quality, integrated and low carbon transport system for the whole of Herefordshire, not just for the immediate future but for generations to come.”

 

What are your thoughts on this discision? 

12/08/2019 - Extension of building maintenance and cleaning contract ref: 6193    

Recommendations Approved (subject to call-in)

Find out more about this decision (item 30)

To approve the extension of the existing council building maintenance and cleansing services contract, which has been procured through an open market tender exercise, to the 31August 2020.

The extension of the contract will enable time for the strategic service review of the Property Services function to complete, which is being undertaken to ensure a future sustainable service can be delivered.

Decision Maker: Cabinet member commissioning, procurement and assets

Decision published: 12/08/2019

Effective from: 17/08/2019

Decision:

That:

(a) The contract with Balfour Beatty Living Places to deliver an amalgamated property maintenance and cleansing service be extended for one year from 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 at a total contract value of £12 million.

Wards affected: (All Wards);

Lead officer: Andrew Husband

Not bad for a years work.

Been advised that Ian MILLS , the Deputy Editor of the HT  is moving on in September.

i have always found him a very responsive Journalist , who has reacted to my emails honestly and positively .

The latest National Audit Office report concludes planning system in England is ‘not working well’

(extracts from The Guardian article today)

Targets for new homes are likely to be missed by half of England’s local authorities, according to a damning assessment of the government’s housing strategy, while increasingly profitable building companies are getting away with paying less for infrastructure and more than half of councils have failed to draw up adequate plans to solve the housing crisis.

The National Audit Office (NAO) concludes that the planning system in England is “not working well” and says councils are struggling to negotiate successfully with developers, leaving swaths of the country vulnerable to either housing shortages or situations where the wrong homes are built in the wrong places. Since 2010 there has been an almost 40% real-terms cut in spending on planners, according to the public spending watchdog.

Government figures show that while the average contributions agreed with developers for public infrastructure such as schools, health centres, roads and social housing remained at about £19,000 per new home between 2012 and 2017, average house prices increased by 31% in that period. The top five developers’ average operating profit margin increased from about 12% to 21%.

Planning for new homes
Background to the report
This report assesses how effectively the Department supports the planning regime to provide the right homes in the right places.

More facts and figures of financial sustainability of local authorities 2018 with visualisations from NAO.

Information on:
Revenue Spending Power
Service Spending (net current expenditure)
Social Care
Reserves
Budget vs Outturn (service spending)

The controversial bright yellow and pink shop front colours along Widemarsh Street in Hereford have been approved and the current colours are to be changed inline with current planning conditions.

Planning application details: 

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Proposed Non-Illuminated Fascia and Projecting Sign (and repainting ofshopfront with black panels to match stallriser)

This is how to U Break We Fix store currently looks

The new colours below are more inline with current planning regulations.

Application P191115/A

Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards carried out a joint raid as part of a Multi Agency Targeted Enforcement Strategy operation

A Hereford City shopkeeper has been fined for selling illegal tobacco in a case taken to court by Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards service.

Adam Ibrahim, 26, of Bank Street Dudley, pleaded guilty yesterday (Monday 1 October 2018) at Hereford Magistrates’ Court to six offences of possession and sale of illegal tobacco, all of which was non UK duty-paid. The former owner of the Zabka shop at Eign Gate, Hereford, was fined and required to pay costs totalling £2472. Mr Ibrahim is the fourth consecutive owner of the Zabka shop in four years to be convicted of selling illegal tobacco. 

In January 2018, Herefordshire Council's Trading Standards, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and West Mercia Police undertook a joint raid as part of a Multi Agency Targeted Enforcement Strategy (MATES) operation. 1580 packets of illegal cigarettes and 132 pouches of illegal hand rolling tobacco were seized; products were found in sophisticated concealments hidden in the floor and in false backs to large fridges.

Marc Willimont, Herefordshire Council’s Head of Regulatory & Development Management Services, said:

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“The sale of illegal tobacco severely damages honest local businesses, as well as costing the tax payer £2 billion nationally. We will continue to work in partnership with the police to clamp down on this organised crime which is often associated with other criminal activity. This case was yet another successful outcome supported by multi-agency targeted enforcement which clearly shows the value of working in partnership with other agencies.” 

Sergeant Duncan Reynolds from West Mercia Police said:

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"The trade of illegal cigarettes and other commodities is not only harmful to health, it is the type of crime that can be linked to organised crime groups working across our county borders. Serious and organised crime has a devastating effect on communities. I would urge members of the public to work with the police and Trading Standards to recognise the signs and report them so they can be investigated thoroughly.

"This is yet another example of successful partnership working to tackle organised crime in our community. Alongside MATES, West Mercia Police’s Protect campaign will see neighbourhood officers continuing to work closely with other organisations using all the powers available to bring offenders to justice.”

 

There is further information about Herefordshire Trading Standards on the Herefordshire Council website at www.herefordshire.gov.uk/trading-standards

Since the article in The Hereford Times alerting citizens that Herefordshire Council has overwhelmingly backed the principle of passing its offices and other estate on to the countys university project.

The groundbreaking motion went through with just one abstention and no votes against at full council this morning (Friday). Support for the motion means fundraising for the project can begin in earnest.

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STRUCTURE & GOVERNANCE

The New University-Herefordshire is being conceived as a not-for-profit institution, with mixed funding, and operating with input from The John Lewis Partnership model. The assets and endowments of the university will be held in trust by The Herefordshire Tertiary Education Trust.

 

A working Development Team has been in place since late 2012, and is comprised of local business people and educators.

 

The Trust Board of Trustees will initially be comprised of nationally and internationally recognised educators and business leaders drawn from Herefordshire and from around the world. This group will have a 2-3 year mandate to design and fund the university and identify and retain the initial executive leadership team.

 

With seed financing of £3-4 million and an additional £10-13 million to open the university in 2017, the Board will be tasked over succeeding years with securing an additional £50-£75 million in financing; integrating resources from personal and corporate philanthropy, the social capital market, private investment, UK & EU Government funding, public sector asset transfers, and industry sponsorships.

 

The New University will be working in close collaboration with Herefordshire College of Arts, Hereford & Ludlow College, and the Royal National College for the Blind to ensure that Herefordshire is recognized as a national centre of excellence in education.

My first thought - money no object. Where did the seed finance come from? Not the council I hope as they will have to have parking meters along all the roads of Herefordshire to bring in any money to support this. Can any councillors explain as they all voted for this worthy cause, except one who abstained.

Noticed that the Blackfriars building used by the council has been vacated and fenced off completely. Did someone mention that the Robert Owen school was to be given the building?