megilleland

Here are some photos of the lane between Canal Road and Morrisons showing the litter and other areas which require attention. We walk past these eyesores everyday, but is anyone going to do anything or will it just get worse.

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Not only is the town centre a mess, but plenty of others places one comes across look pretty depressing and untidy. I cycle back and forwards across the city to work every day and the passage from Canal Road to Morrisons is an absolute disgrace. I know its a private road, but it is public litter which is being discarded along this route everyday. Also the drop kerb at the Canal Road end has lifted and now presents a danger to cyclists and pedestrians. On my way home this afternoon along Great Western Way I noticed that the clearing of the undergrowth along the edges of the route have been extended into the established trees. The result is a complete mess with broken and slashed branches. Close to home at Sherborne Close I cycled through black bag rubbish strewn over the footway and outside residents' windows, but nobody seems to care. This has been ongoing for years. On arrival at home I telephoned 261800 to report the raised kerb, but after two attempts gave up and rang the council's main number 260000. The gentleman on reception said he couldn't take a message concerning the kerb and immediately put me back to the number which I tried earlier to no avail. Its about time some heads were banged together and a plan put together to tidy up the city, before the tourists arrive. However until the city and county are tidied up they won't need directions to find the city, they just need to follow the litter strewn along the main roads and in the hedgerows. Maybe we can have a dedicated post with photograhs of the city litter problem and also the bombed out sites as per Colin's empty shops. I'll get my camera out and post some up in the next few days.

Also see post here advertising Council job on £500 a day!

I was more interested in the job advertised below Wagamama. No zero contracts here!

"We will not be holding a council tax referendum on a 5 per cent rise, in view of the consultation responses. We will only raise council tax by 1.9 per cent". Yes, the maximum amount they are allowed to. They are not doing the ratepayers any favours. If the cap was 3.5% the council would have increased it to that level. Also note that the funding has been approved by Worcestershire County Council for the incinerator which Herefordshire is in partnership. Yes these councils tell us to save money so that they can take it off us at a later date. How many of those 20,000 homes will be heated in Herefordshire?

Notice that there is some movement on the other side of Greyfriars Bridge with the submission of a Planning Application in the local press 9th January 2014. Planning public notices It is a legal requirement for the council to give public notice of certain types of planning application and other planning matters by the display of an advert in a local newspaper. I thought this had been up before the planners and withdrawn for some reason a few years ago. Here is a montage of what the development could look like:

Harry Beynon Came across this article in The Guardian today and thought not only has the OLM freehold been given away, but I imagine access to the development will be controlled for the benefit of the owners in the manner descibed below: I remember this happening at the back of Argos where pedestrian access to the Buttermarket was closed with the erection of gates. All the alterations to Widemarsh Gate are for the benefit of the shopping development with traffic being fed towards it. I can imagine a time when you will be able to wave your credit card at the traffic lights and they will change to allow you to pass through the traffic to enter this temple of consumerism as quickly as possible. However it won't work the other way.

And here is the full report on the Appeal Decision. Hearing held on 17the June 2009 by John Worlock, Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Goverment 8372417.pdf

Here is the official reason for refusal of planning permission at the time. 6450155 (1).pdf

Musn't stand in the way of progress. Any trees left after the fracking starts will have to go. Makes the Edgar Street saga look like a bit of light pruning. Remember this is the government that wanted to sell off the nation's forests a few years ago.

Government to stop funding for low-income families facing emergencies See post above.

You will like this comment Colin! Budget 2014/15 Consultation 6.3 Ideas and suggestions about doing things differently Most frequent suggestions are about reducing operational costs, e.g. staff, councillors, ICT, managing money better. Other suggestions include: • Charge take-away shops an extra fee because of litter • Spend on the basics • Charge for more services • Need to encourage more businesses – suggestion of mentoring scheme for new firms • Charges should be based on number of people living in household • Volunteers could find tax evaders Even though the shops can't stay open to earn the money to pay the fee! No - fine the public who drop it and get the police to enforce it. Oh I forgot this is about the police trying to save money by not deploying additional weekend officers and nothing more!

Some highlights taken from Equality Impact of Budget Proposals. Manage demographic pressures/improvements in Demand Management †providing people who do not have "eligible" adult social care needs with information, advice and guidance on how to live independantly and if they wish to purchase care and support, how they can do this. Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £1,160,000 (Your on your own from now on) Remove funding for non-eligible services Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £900,000 (Who decides - the secret six) Reducing the amount we spend on highways and public spaces whilst prioritising road repairs Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £1,132,000 (aren't Balfour Beatty supposed to repairing the roads and cutting the grass. Should be able to do with £20 million every year) Parks †Reducing spending on parks and open spaces †Introduce parking charges at Queenswood †Possible community assest transfers Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £150,000 (Looks like you will have to pay to use the park, that is if they have't given it away for building) Waste & sustainability †disposal contract †moving to alternate weekly collections of waste and restricting to 1 wheelie bin. (compared to Spain where they are emptied every day) Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £188,000 Public toilets †no further closures planned (that is because they are all closed) Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £90,000 Minimum "back office" services to maintain revenues and effective financial management Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £1,792,000 (yet they give Hoople over half a million every month) Car parking †Provide adequate supply of parking to support economic activity whilst maximising financial return from HC's land holding Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £none (No incentive for shoppers or commuters or cuts in enforcement) Removing funding from Citizens' Advice Bureau Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £48,000 (Can't support people who need help when in difficult circumstances) Customer & Library Services, remove funding from all libraries except Hereford, Leominster and Ross. Proposed budget savings 2014/15 £348,000 (Can't have any culture or self education. The masses may revolt) Did the public support this when consulted?

Important meeting coming up. Contains the results of public consultation held at the end of last year. Not that the Council will be taking much notice of that. Health & Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee Monday 13 January 2014 10.00 am 6. BUDGET 2014/15 AND MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY To provide the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the General Overview and Scrutiny Committee with information on the draft budget proposals and to give an opportunity for the committees to comment on the Budget report to be presented to Cabinet on 23 January 2014. Additional documents: Draft Cabinet Report - 23 January 2014 , item 6. Annex A - Budget Consultation Interim Report 5 , item 6. Annex B - Budget Consultation Interim Report 6 , item 6. Appendix 1_Draft Revenue Budget Summary 2014-15 , item 6. Appendix 2_Savings Proposals 2014-15 , item 6. There are a further 24 documents. View the full list of documents for item 6. Here is what they want to achieve over the next three years. Savings Proposals Summary 2014/15 to 2016/17 (£millions) 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 Total by area Adults £5,490m £3,435m £3,146m £12,071m Childrens £2,500m £1,632m £2,236m £6,368m Economic £7,407m £3,602m £4,269m £15,278m Communities & Corporate & CEODT Total £15,397m £8,669m £9,651m £33,717m Grand total over 3 years by year

from left to right: at present - Hibiscus the florists, Powells the butcher and Cancer Research uk charity shop. In the background the ground looks cleared for inner ring road and Garrick House.

Try these: Valuation Office Agency search Herefordshire Council: Business rates advice website

Online retailers move into bricks and mortar stores By Lindsay Baker Business Reporter from BBC Business News 6 November 2013 What happens in America usually follows over here. I can see a future in this style of retailing saving the high street and bringing comsumers into the centre to try before they buy. Also an educational and employment opportunity to promote local, national and international businesses and their products.

Check out post number 7 on this topic and past topic "Beyond Retail - Redefining the shape and purpose of town centres." You can link to the report here by The Distressed Town Centre Property Taskforce.

Good ideas Flamboyant. I have been looking at quotations to raise my spirits. Here are a few to support your comment. with acknowledgement to BrainyQuote. 1. Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. Carl Sagan 2. To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison 3. Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. Gloria Steinem Quotes 1 & 2 appear apt for High Town. Quote 3 Unfortuanately "the excitement of possibilities" is replaced by "the law of certainty" that all planning is based on short term financial gain for the few and long term pay back by the many.

Latest tot up of your empty shops pics Colin: Belmont Road 1 Bewell Street 2 Bridge Street 3 Church Street 1 Commercial Road 1 Commercial Street 6 East Street 1 Eign Gate 3 High Town 4 King Street 1 St Nicholas Street 1 St Owen Street 1 St Peters Street 2 Union Street 4 Widemarsh Street 5 Total = 36 empty shops

From previous post here: Beyond Retail Redefining the shape and purpose of town centres November 2013 Page 28 - Business Rates There is already considerable industry debate and lobbying from the retail and property industry around the need for business rates reform. Reform is urgently required to address regional inequalities that have arisen out of the current five year review process. Central Government has already taken action to provide relief from the impact of business rates. These actions have included increasing the amount of small business rate relief for a temporary period and allowing local councils to introduce and fund local business rate discounts. It is nonetheless clear that, in many towns, retail business rates now account for a disproportionately high percentage of total occupancy costs for retailers. This has been exacerbated by the fact that current business rate levels are based on 2008 rental levels — pre-recession and at the peak of the market. This has resulted in the current level of business rates being out of step with the economic cycle. The majority of retail locations outside of London have seen rental decline since 2008. For Great Britain as a whole, rents have fallen by 15% in nominal terms (26% in real terms). The delay of the business rates revaluation from 2015 to 2017 has simply extended an inequitable situation whereby, in effect, poor performing towns in the Midlands and North are subsidising the stronger performing locations in London and the South. High business rates are just one of the factors that have contributed to the high level of retailer administrations over the last four years. It is also undoubtedly a factor in deterring new entrants and start-up independents looking at gaining a High Street presence, although Small Business Rate Reflief may apply. Solutions With the evolving multi-channel retail sector dynamic, the business rates system needs to be reformed to return a sense of equity to contributing businesses and, in particular, better reflect the balance of taxation levied on physical and pure online retailers. In the long term, an independent review of the business rates system is required to determine how relevant it is for the collection of taxes to pay for local services given today’s, and critically tomorrow’s, retail business model. More regular revaluations are required to better reflect the changing economic and business environment. There should be consideration of other models, taking examples from abroad. In the medium term, property owner contributions to Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) should be made compulsory, initially in London, where the legislation allows, and then further afield, where there is agreement for owners to participate. In the short term, business rates discounts should be widely promoted to incentivise investment in town centres. This can be funded via the Regional Growth Fund, as is happening in Bradford, or through investing capital reserves where the strength of the public sector balance sheet allows. The annual uplift should also be fixed at no more than 2% — Government’s target for inflation — until 2017. This is something a number of organisations have been calling for over the past few years, including the BCSC and the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), and has recently been taken up by the CBI and the BRC. "In the short term, business rates discounts should be widely promoted to incentivise investment in town centres". What is the situation in Hereford - any councillors give us some figures?

Just totted up your empty shops pics Colin: Commercial Street 6 High Town 3 St Peters Street 2 Widemarsh Street 4 Eign Gate 3 Union Street 4 Total = 22 empty shops

I'll guess 35 Colin. I imagine one of the biggest factors in running a business on the high street is the business rates. Check out what these people have to pay on the VOA site. This figure is based on 2008 rental values which at that time were at their peak. The government decided not to have a revaluation because they knew market rentals would be low and business rates would have to come down as well. You can find a post code to enter in the search from here: In the Hereford Times (p2, 26th December edition): "Receivers have been appointed to Hereford's Maylord shopping centre with existing tenants facing an investigation into their occupancy rights"

New road bike racing circuit to open in North West Proof there is a market for this type of facility.