flamboyant Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 The waste sites in Hereford are owned by Worcester Council not Hereford. Permits are no longer supplied by Herefordshire Council if you want a permit to go to the Herefordshire sites you need to contact Worcester. Worcester Council used to allow Herefordshire Council to give out permits but I think that stopped towards the end of last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheelsgood Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Well, well - I noted a double mattress dumped on the pavement in Bodenham Road yesterday (Sunday) and submitted a report via fixmystreet - this morning I had an email from HC (not BB) to say the offending item would be removed within 24 hours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Well, well - I noted a double mattress dumped on the pavement in Bodenham Road yesterday (Sunday) and submitted a report via fixmystreet - this morning I had an email from HC (not BB) to say the offending item would be removed within 24 hours!Twowheelgood - you are the lucky one , having said that time will tell , " my " settee plus three black bags of rubbish , tv stand and kitchen Cabinet ( in good condition ) are still in location . However , I am pleased to report that about an hour ago the Editor of the HT phoned and spoke to Mrs U , he wanted to confirm that it was still in the location - answer Yes. - so the HT are now going to run the story . Must give serious consideration to what power my Cllr has when it comes to BB ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheelsgood Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Must give serious consideration to what power my Cllr has when it comes to BB ? It's simple - none. Having opened the door and let them in, they are now completely autonomous, no councillor is man or woman enough to stand up to them, sad to say. They got us into the Jarvis deal, the Amey deal and now this, each one more of a disaster than the last for Herefordshire. Vote them out in May, but we're still stuck with BB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 It appears that the tail is wagging the dog with this Balfour Beatty lot. With the council washing its hands regarding any civic pride and telling us that BB will be responsible for public realm work we now have BB telling Ledbury Council if they want the grass cut then the potholes will be left. The town council believed, following recent talks with Herefordshire Council, that funding would not be available for a lengthsman to undertake grass cutting duties. Cllr Eager said: "We had a meeting with the lengthsman of Colwall and Malvern Wells. He went into great detail describing how the scheme works. The lengthsman we spoke to wasn't trained up to do potholes and he said he didn't know many lengthsman who were." But he said that a lengthsman scheme, involving pothole repairs, had been trialled by three local parishes last year. What sort of contract was considered acceptable, that when BB are awarded it they then turn round and tell the customer that you won't be getting a full service and that they will decide the type of service you can expect. However in the meantime the cheques get cashed, but no refunds for half a service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Apologies for boring you but the Settee was removed today , 3 weeks 3 days after it was reported to HCC . A very nice lady from Herefordshire CC Customer Services phoned me yesterday morning stating that she had chased up BB on Tuesday , they advised her that the removal would happen very soon ! HCC released a Press Release today................. Clear Up Herefordshire! On behalf of Balfour Beatty Living Places 19-03-2015 11:15 AM GMT Herefordshire Council contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) is backing the first national Community Clear Up Day on Saturday (March 21), the first day of spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheelsgood Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Ubique - I'm sure your letter and photo in the HT had nothing to do with BB's uncharacteristic haste! Well done for getting it highlighted in the HT. Council press release here http://tinyurl.com/mb5aeae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheelsgood Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 The cycle way is in Lower Bullingham Parish Council area and I will also inform their Clerk about the graffiti. Councillor - did you do this, because it is still all there, now 4 months since I reported it and a month since you said you would follow it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Well, well - I noted a double mattress dumped on the pavement in Bodenham Road yesterday (Sunday) and submitted a report via fixmystreet - this morning I had an email from HC (not BB) to say the offending item would be removed within 24 hours! Twowheelgood , do you know if BB collected the mattress " within 24 hours " ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Yes it went within 24hrs Ubique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Saturday 21 March 2015 in Hereford Times Letters This week's Herefordshire blackspot is.... THE filth along roads in the south of the county was highlighted recently by Kirstie Macfarlane (Tourists don’t want to see rubbish dump, Letters, March 5). Then Jim Gale repeated the charge (Litter levels on the rise, Letters, March 12). May I add this week’s particular blackspot, the nice wide verge on the A49 just north of Holmer Church layby? The repellent blight continues northwards, of course, and I am sure we are not the only people to notice it. JENNIE GUILLE Wellington Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Yes it went within 24hrs Ubique. Expect they had a good home for it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Monday 23 March 2015 in Hereford Times Letters County roadside and hedges full of litter MY partner took me shopping to Gloucester Quays last week and I was shocked, disgusted and ashamed to live in Hereford when I saw the phenomenal amount of litter on the roadside and in the hedges en route, until we got into Gloucestershire where it was greatly reduced. For months I have been watching litter mount up that has been dumped in the brook from which Hereford’s Brook Retail Park gets its name. It will only take a week of torrential rain and the water will not be able to get under the arch, and what will happen then? This litter has been dumped in the bushes for years and never removed by council contractors. PATRICIA JOHNSTONE Staunton-on-Wye And Balfour Beatty thought it was just Hereford Voice posters that were complaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippyhippy Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 I'm sure there is also a letter on there specifically mentioning the stretch of road just past The Starting Gate Roundabout, heading towards Leominster, which I mentioned on the first page of this thread???? People are finally getting vocal about this issue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippyhippy Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 I have finally lost the plot! You've already posted this letter! Apologies, Megilleland.....! You're too quick for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biomech Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Clearly the council haven't heard of the Broken Windows Theory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubique Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 The more one reads these comments you realise that the Council do not , and never have had a plan when it comes to BB . There is a very well know saying in some circles ! !!!!.......FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL........ Need I say more? The sooner the Council revert to Direct Labour in my opinion the better ( and cheaper ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted April 4, 2015 Report Share Posted April 4, 2015 Daily Mail 4th April 2015 Utter rubbish! Fury at our litter-strewn roadsides - as 'nanny' council says it's too dangerous to clean them up * Winchester Council in Hampshire claimed annual clean-up hit by new rules * But the Health and Safety Executive denied tightening rules and added that councils were ‘over-interpreting’ legislation * Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion accused town hall bosses and Highways Agency of ruining the countryside by failing to remove rubbish Council chiefs were condemned last night after claiming it was too dangerous to collect the roadside litter blighting Britain. Winchester Council in Hampshire said its annual clean-up of roads around the city had been hit by new Health and Safety Executive rules designed to protect litter-pickers from traffic. But the HSE denied tightening rules – and said councils were ‘over-interpreting’ legislation. Last night, former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, now president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, accused town hall bosses and the Highways Agency of ruining the countryside by failing to remove rubbish. He said: ‘Every day, people tell us that they are disgusted, angry and ashamed of the state of England’s roads. ‘Nobody wants to drive through our beautiful countryside or approach a vibrant city, heralded only by discarded rubbish.’ Although laws to fine people who throw litter from vehicles were now in place, their implementation had been delayed by ‘shameful time-wasting’, Sir Andrew said. ‘Without funding to tackle the problem, I fear our roads will become corridors of waste,’ he added. Highways England – the Government-owned company launched last week to replace the Highways Agency – is required to keep the motorway network clean, but responsibility for clearing A-roads and trunk routes is divided between the agency and councils. Roadside litter has become a problem almost everywhere in the UK. Andrew Gwynne, who is standing for re-election as Labour MP in Denton and Reddish in Greater Manchester, said: ‘The Highways Agency is atrocious when it comes to removing rubbish. The worst case I’ve come across is Crookilley Way in Stockport, which is littered with plastic bags and bottles.’ A Highways England spokesman said: ‘Although we spend at least £6 million a year collecting more than 150,000 sacks of litter from England’s motorways, we still find the level of litter unacceptable. We will continue to investigate what more can be done.’ Winchester Council insisted that the HSE had ‘clarified’ last June that litter-picking was covered by the same code of practice that governs employees involved in highway maintenance – requiring a wider separation than was previously the case between workers and passing traffic. Having spent a few days in Cornwall this week, I can say that the problem of litter is not confined to Herefordshire. Devon roads and Cornish roads around Newquay appear to be suffering from the same problems, and as the newspaper article above states, no one is prepared to pick up this issue. Note the new name for the Highways Agency - plenty of money no doubt to change the livery of all their vehicles and alter their stationery, but not enough to employ some litter pickers. While in St Ives also noticed that the quaint narrow streets are now blighted by green wheelie bins outside the houses and cottages. No where else to put them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted April 4, 2015 Report Share Posted April 4, 2015 In Winchester only last week and I'm ashamed! A place where a flat will cost you £270,000 and a two bedroomed terrace around £400,000 and the penny pinching council cuts back on litter picking.Highways England has started clearing litter on the A34 but as you say megilleland how much will it cost to change the signs on the vans or will they just trade the vans in for new ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Working south of Hereford this week and noticed the state of the litter bins in the laybyes along the A465 between Hereford and Wormbridge/Abbey Dore turns. The photos speak for themselves. It is not only the council in purdah, but also Balfour Beatty and or Highways England. Let's see who is first to say its the other body who should clean this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 The layby bins above have been emptied. Looking at todays papers, The Independent carries this alarming story of the extent of the problem and how bad it is going to get in the future. "Electronic waste worth £34bn piling up in 'toxic mine', warns UN report" and the UK is one of the worst offenders. People have always said that where there is muck there is money, however instead of recycling and making money our council send it to landfill and get charged £80 a tonne to bury it. Why can the council not recycle more? Councillors tell us the reasons. Also in The Independent and may cause more interest than above! Beer drinkers join the fight against fracking with claims it poses a 'substantial threat to the quality of real ale' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 Kip Waistell has a letter in The HT today ... Basically he is having a go at the Council ... He is quite prepared to submerge the Council with a deluge of paperwork if prodded to do so! Show zero tolerance to the obnoxious minority share on Facebook share on Twitter share on Google+ email (0) comments print First published 5 hours ago in Letters I WOULD like to respond to the letter from Kirstie Macfarlane (Tourists don’t want to see rubbish dump, Letters, March 6). There is no doubt that because there are disgusting people about, we have a problem. It is nonsense, and utterly misleading, for the council to plead lack of resources as a defence to a claim that the litter problem is not being tackled. Under Section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a council has an absolute duty to pick up litter, and there is basically no excuse for not doing so. Under Section 91 an individual aggrieved by the presence of litter can take action against the council in the magistrates’ court. That is precisely what I did some years ago when I lived in Hereford and became fed up with wading through litter. I issued some 30 abatement notices against the council under the Act. They ignored them, I took the council to court, won the case, and things temporarily improved. The procedure is all set out in the excellent website www.litteraction.org.uk. Everything is explained and there is a step-by-step procedure to follow etc. I am willing, as a retired lawyer, to assist anyone who cares to take the council to task (my email is kipcarwaistell@hotmail.com), and am happy to try and form a group (contact me if you are interested) to keep an eye on litter everywhere in the county, with the object of submerging the council with litter abatement notices. The council must be forced to act. Schools and parents need to educate the young that dropping litter is a filthy habit, and the police/council need to adopt a zero-tolerance policy to offenders. After all, with a maximum fine of £2,500, one should be able to discourage this obnoxious minority. I also took the council and their contractors to court for £400 damage sustained by my car as a result of potholes and recovered my outlay (but only because of a lucky technicality!). It is a disgrace that the council allows repairs to be so badly done, rather than take the contractors to task for shoddy work. I see the same potholes open up time and time again, because the repairs are not done properly. This new group could try to do something in this respect too. KIP WAISTELL Vowchurch Hereford Times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippyhippy Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 A friend of mine walks her dogs on The Lugg Flats. On Tuesday, one of the dogs ended up at the vets having slashed it's paw very badly on broken glass. Two hundred and fifty pounds later, my friend says it was possibly the most expensive dog walk ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippyhippy Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 An interesting article on HT. An eleven year project to clear the River Wye of litter is due to come to an end. The item goes into detail about the precisely what was found. They conclude by saying that "60% of the litter collected from upstream of Hereford was of agricultural origin." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Herefordshire Council News - 11th May 2015 Public services watchdog declares a good start to public realm contract - on behalf of Balfour Beatty Living Places Innovations made by Herefordshire’s public realm contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) have been praised by a council group scrutinising the contract. The ‘task and finish’ group looked at what had gone well in the first year of the contract and what could be improved in the future. The group was ‘highly supportive’ of the introduction of 13 locality stewards who work directly with local councillors and are trained to inspect local roads, paths, parks and open spaces. The report stated: “Whilst it was noted it is early days, the group was very encouraged by this approach and very supportive of its introduction.†A pilot project to give traditional lengthsmen a greater role in parishes by not only keeping ditches and drains clear, but also fixing potholes on minor roads, was declared a success. “The group is highly supportive of the council’s recommendation to roll out the use of the Enhanced Lengthsman Scheme and recommends that as many parish councils as possible takes up this option.†Arrangements for BBLP to work with local suppliers and to encourage young people to join the industry through contact with schools and colleges and an apprentices’ programme were examined. In its recommendations, the group said it would like to see the council work with BBLP to make it easier for small, local organisations to engage with BBLP and bid for sub-contractor opportunities. BBLP started the £20 million a year contract to deliver a number of high profile frontline services including highway maintenance, street cleaning and grounds maintenance in September 2013. The 10-year contract was front-loaded for the first two years with an additional £40 million invested in road infrastructure. The task and finish group was established to consider progress made with the delivery of public realm services since the start of the new contract and make recommendations for improvements. A bit of back slapping for only doing their job. I noticed today that Herefordshire Housing were cutting their grass and taking away the grass - a good job done, meanwhile BB just fling it around when they get round to cutting theirs. It is obvious that if BB didn't have their locality stewards nothing would get done - how do the public get in touch about problems. The litter problem has disappeared under the newly grown verges waiting to emerge when they get round to cutting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megilleland Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 First published Monday 11th May 2015 in Hereford Times Letters Pride needs restoring in litter-strewn city WE recently organised our RAF ex-apprentices’ reunion at the Green Dragon Hotel in Broad Street, Hereford, which has excellent facilities. It was nice to return to our old haunts and see that the gates from the old RAF camp at Credenhill have been saved and proudly displayed in a nearby park. The town is pleasing and has developed into a good tourist location with lots of interesting features. However, our great disappointment was the litter-ridden streets. I travel to many cities in England and Europe but have rarely seen such dirty streets. The litter bins were overflowing and the pedestrianised areas were a disgrace. Your city has so much to offer the tourist but please find some extra finance from the council to proudly present your historic city to the world. We will return next year for a reunion and hope that this issue will be resolved. We have fond memories of Hereford and it will always be a special place for us. The Royal Air Force has been an integral part of this city for many decades and we want to share our pride, so please spruce up your streets and public areas. ROBERT WILLIS Cambridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnSpencer Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 At least we've been saved over the last year:Council Newsroom Didn't you notice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheelsgood Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 At least we've been saved over the last year:Council Newsroom Didn't you notice... megilleland has already linked this self congratulatory bit of fluff from the Council (post 175). "In its recommendations, the group said it would like to see the council work with BBLP to make it easier for small, local organisations to engage with BBLP and bid for sub-contractor opportunities." Here's an idea to make it easier for a small local organisation - use direct labour instead of BB. Everyone wins, except the shareholders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkester Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 I think this is relevant to the topic header. This morning I witnessed the gang of BB grass cutters going about their work on Yazor Road. One chap on a ride on mower doing the grass on the sides of the roads, another chap with a petrol strimmer, and another chap guarding the lorry. Now then... the fella with the strimmer was doing the awkward bits around trees and lamp posts. I watched, not in horror, but more disbelief as he strimmed around a tree and where there was a few sheets of what looked like newspaper. Did he move the newspaper? Did he pick the newspaper up?? No he did not, what he did instead though was cut it into lots and lots of tiny, little pieces that were then flung all around the area he'd just been attacking, oops, I mean cutting. Then he wandered off to have a go at the next tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Boggs Posted May 29, 2015 Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 Kip Waistell has a letter in The HT today ... Basically he is having a go at the Council ... He is quite prepared to submerge the Council with a deluge of paperwork if prodded to do so! I used to think he was a bit of an obsessive always banging on about litter in the HT letters section, but having seen the state of the city and wider afield I'm forced to concede he's entirely correct. I wish him all the best in his campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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