Harry Beynon Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Clearly the Council's fluffy policy of requesting the removal of the scaffold has not worked. The burnt-out building is to be replaced by a boarded-up building - no doubt shortly to be covered in graffiti. The Council have a legal right - and a moral responsibility - to insist on the rebuild. Surely, these buildings are in a conservation area and are protected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin James Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Clearly the Council's fluffy policy of requesting the removal of the scaffold has not worked. The burnt-out building is to be replaced by a boarded-up building - no doubt shortly to be covered in graffiti. The Council have a legal right - and a moral responsibility - to insist on the rebuild. Surely, these buildings are in a conservation area and are protected? I could not agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenda Powell Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 See my post 8 on the empty shops about this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 This scenario sadly gets played out all over the country. Council v commercial property owners..who coughs first. I bet we won't see many Cabinet members touting their political party outside the hoardings in the run up to the election. My solution would be to offer substantial business rate reductions for new commercial occupiers in old town. As shops become occupied the footfall will return and then our bomb site owner might think that the time is right to rebuild. There will have to be give and take on both sides. We should also spare a thought for those businesses who remained loyal to old town so HC should consider this and reward in some way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Greenknight , I agree with you re the Council should reward the Companies that have stayed in High Town rather than follow "them" to the promised land across a very busy road. I feel that it's good news that Costa Coffee plus their tables and chairs are moving to High Town , very interesting that their new premises are opposite Starbucks Coffee . I am also aware of the number of Coffee Bars within High Town , some will say that it's the area is filling up,with Coffee Shops rather than Charity Shops and Estate Agents, a,ways finds its own level , just like water in a puddle ! ( I remember the days when Estate Agents were buying up premises in the town centres - changed now. , ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biomech Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 I feel that it's good news that Costa Coffee plus their tables and chairs are moving to High Town , very interesting that their new premises are opposite Starbucks Coffee . What? Costa is opening up an outdoor coffee area next to Starbucks and the Coffee Cart's outdoor coffee area? What idiot comes up with this ****? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Biomech - not guilty , my Lord , they are locating opposite Starbucks near to the Apple Store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Ah come on Biomech it could be worse..it could be Estate Agents like Ubique mentioned or bookies! I appreciate that it might not be St Marks Square however empty shops aside I'm surprised how it can fill up with people just having coffee and a chat. Rather that than drunks rolling around the High Street. Costa does get a bit of stick because it's expensive however there are other cheaper options. They are owned by Whitbread and I believe they pay their taxes. Sadly they have replaced many WRVS tea shops in hospitals which provided valuable funds for equipment however that's down to hospital management wanting improved revenue streams.The other Costa will close so surely it's one less empty and faceless shop in full view of the tourists.....it's a big year for Hereford and tourists! Let's have some circular bill board posters and more flowers...if the Peregrine Falcon returns we might lose a few pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragwert Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Don't you just love the wingers who moan about empty shops then moan that a certain business is opening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biomech Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Sorry ragwert, I didn't think being surprised that the exact same type of business is opening exactly next to other businesses doing the exact same thing is "moaning".Do you honestly think sticking another outdoor coffee area right next to several coffee places and several outdoor coffee areas is a good idea? Really?Apart from being generally idiotic, it just makes no sense from a business point of view. It's like opening a Tesco in the carpark of Sainsburys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biomech Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 By all means open another Costa, but why not put it down Commerical Road for the students coming from college or down the Chadds end? It just makes no sense to put it right in the middle with existing suppliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Sorry ragwert, I didn't think being surprised that the exact same type of business is opening exactly next to other businesses doing the exact same thing is "moaning". Do you honestly think sticking another outdoor coffee area right next to several coffee places and several outdoor coffee areas is a good idea? Really? Apart from being generally idiotic, it just makes no sense from a business point of view. It's like opening a Tesco in the carpark of Sainsburys They are moving just a few metres round the corner from where they are currently located. Let's see if they are all around in a years time. This is the future for the High street especially cathedral cities...Salisbury, Chichester, Winchester they are all moving this way..after all at the moment it's the one thing that your not likely to order on the internet and have delivered to your door...unless you don't have hot water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Well the boards have gone up around the bomb site and for some reason they want to paint the screen white which of course is a mistake! It's a simple concept we all pretend it's not there because we cannot see it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Herefordshire Council in crisis article in Hereford Civic Society magazine (winter 2015) Back in July 2014 we were told that a section 215 was being served on the owners of the burnt out buildings in High Town. Councillor Price, John Jones of the Business Improvement District project and myself were interviewed on BBC Hereford and Worcester all pleased to say that at last action was being taken – a relatively simple procedure as I explained. It was a shock to read a HC press release dated 21st November 2014 saying that the section 215 was only now being served and far from a demand for proper reinstatement, merely three half measures. The notice requires these actions to be undertaken: 1. The retained facades need to be internally stabilised 2. A 4.8m hoarding needs to be erected across the full width of the front of the property (which is the northern boundary of the site) 3. A pictorial representation of the approved redevelopment scheme needs to be included on the erected hoarding So little real improvement and no reinstatement to the approved plans. But the Press Release states “early indications suggest that they [the owners] are indeed taking steps to complete the necessary actionsâ€. After five years it is about time. Maybe that's why the hoardings are white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Beynon Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 But these are still half-hearted efforts by the owners who, I am reliably informed, are: F & C REIT Asset Management, 5 Wigmore Street, LONDON W1U 1PB A Mr Gerry Doonan is their Director of Property Services. I would invite everyone to write to Mr Doonan and thank him for the desecration of Hereford City Centre which he has allowed to persist for over four years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenda Powell Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Fire buildings Owners gone into administration! see full story on page 4 HT this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheelsgood Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 So now the Council should buy it from the administrator, put it right and sell it at a modest profit - everyone wins. If they can waste £3m on a bit of scrub land at Three Elms trading estate, they can certainly do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Fire buildings Owners gone into administration! see full story on page 4 HT this week. Thank you Cllr for your post - surprised that a subject this important has not yet made the HT Internet pages yet . Think that twowheelgood has made a very relevant comment - it appears to be the quickest way in getting this part of High Town back to how it was oner 4 years ago. ( but what do I know ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Yes I agree with TWG because this whole sorry business is going to run and run! Also Ubique has a point about HT.Mrs knight hasn't bought the paper home yet but I can't understand how it's not found its way on their internet pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippyhippy Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Alas Green Knight, not all stories which appear in the printed edition make it on line, and vice versa. ....we can only speculate as to the reasons for this! This is a golden opportunity to make a hugely positive difference to High Town. I would hope that the BID team will be very vocal in encouraging the council to show some initiative and purchase this building. Let's actually see some action on this issue...it has gone on for far too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted February 11, 2015 Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 Tuesday 10 February 2015 in Hereford Times News by Paul Broome Fire buildings’ owners go into administration THE owners of the fire damaged buildings in Hereford’s High Town have gone into administration, raising fears a planned restoration project will be further delayed. The city’s MP says “everyone is rightly fed-up†with the state of the former River Island and Card Factory buildings which were badly affected by one of the city’s worst ever fires in October 2010. Things had been looking up before Christmas when Herefordshire Council secured an enforcement notice on Omaha Nominees (A) Ltd and Omaha Nominees (B) Ltd, ordering them to stabilise the facade and erect hoardings across the full width of the frontage. But it has been confirmed this week that the owners have now gone into administration. “Everyone is rightly fed up about the mess of the River Island building, and the lack of progress in fixing it,†said Jesse Norman, the Conservative MP for Hereford and south Herefordshire. “It’s been over four years. “The council was right in trying first to negotiate with the owners. “But the process dragged on forever, and when it finally failed, they had to issue the statutory improvement notice. “In response to local concerns, I had also been pressing the agents myself to improve the site. “The fact that the owners have gone into administration is a disappointment. “But there may be some benefit, if the administrators Deloitte now comply with the notice, as they have said they will.†Deloitte told the Hereford Times this week that its partners have already commissioned work including replacing hoardings and improving the site’s temporary access. But a former cabinet member on Herefordshire Council claims the owners have not always been straight in their dealings with the local authority. “The council has been continually misled by the owners about the proposals for dealing with the building which has made it go on for more than four years,†said Cllr Brian Wilcox. “If we’d have known then what we know now it would not have gone on more than four years.†The enforcement notice also instructed the owners to present a “pictorial representation†of the previously approved redevelopment scheme on the exterior hoarding. The owner had 80 days to comply with the notice after it came into effect on December 2 of last year. River Island is now trading on the city’s new Old Market development while Card Factory trades nearby from Gomond Street. Herefordshire Council confirmed on Tuesday that the owners have gone into administration. “We have only recently received this news but we are still determined to pursue an appropriate course of action which ultimately aims to secure the full refurbishment of the buildings,†the authority said in a statement. “However, before deciding on how to most effectively respond we need to have proper consideration for the new information about the financial state of the companies.†Deloitte said the state of the buildings is “unsatisfactory†but has already contacted the council about carrying out improvement work. “We have already corresponded with Herefordshire Council on these matters and have offered to meet with their officers at their earliest opportunity,†the firm said. I heard on H&W radio that there is a plan to pint a large mural about the history of the Herefordshire Regiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aylestone Voice Posted February 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 Yes there is such a plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted February 11, 2015 Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 I don't know anything about the insurance settlement over this fire but have the insurance company paid out to a company that effectively has gone bust? Has that settlement possibly just been swallowed up and lost? Anyone know anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted February 11, 2015 Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 Roger - that's a very good question ( I did think similar only yesterday and thought that I had better read all the comments in case I missed it ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted February 11, 2015 Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 I'm sure the insurance company paid out sometime ago because in the first few years the feeling was that this was the hold up....more like a stitch up now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 I'm sure the insurance company paid out sometime ago because in the first few years the feeling was that this was the hold up....more like a stitch up now. There must be a list of creditors for that bust company. Usually HMRC is high up on the list. How much money will be left to rebuild the eyesore? Just a shambles .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin James Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 There must be a list of creditors for that bust company. Usually HMRC is high up on the list. How much money will be left to rebuild the eyesore? Just a shambles .... I could not agree more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biomech Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 I see people are at it with their "murals" again. I don't mean to be spiteful, but they always look very amateurish and, in my opinion, have the opposite effect of what I assume is intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheelsgood Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 I see people are at it with their "murals" again. I don't mean to be spiteful, but they always look very amateurish and, in my opinion, have the opposite effect of what I assume is intended. Dear Lord, no, not again! Shabby and shanty town spring to mind. The terms of the Council's enforcement notice said that a representation of what had been approved was to be applied to the hoarding ie a life size picture of new shop fronts. Obviously now the plug has been pulled, no one is going to do anything much. Should have just left it plain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippyhippy Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 If they absolutely insist that this has to be decorated, one thought does spring to mind...... We are home to a degree based Arts Course....... surely there is enough local talent to make this a positive addition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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